Gergely Gulyás, Head of the Prime Minister's Office, said an "unprecedented" wage hike awaits teachers if the government reaches an agreement with the European Commission on EU funding currently withheld due to the rule-of-law conditionality mechanism.
Gulyás said the government is hoping to raise teachers’ wages to 80 percent of the average salary of university graduates by 2025. Wages may be raised by 21 percent in January 2023, by 25 percent in 2024, and by 29-30 percent in the two subsequent years, he said. In 2025, the average graduate salary is expected to be around HUF 972,000 (EUR 2,253) gross, with teachers likely to earn 778,000 on average, he said, adding that even without EU funding, the government would hike teachers’ wages by 10% next year. Meanwhile, the government has agreed with the European Union to take 17 measures, mostly in connection with the public procurement system. The proportion of single-bid procurements will be reduced and cooperation with the European Union’s anti-corruption taskforce OLAF intensified, Gulyás said. PM Orbán on Thursday thanked in a letter the EU leaders for their decision to extend the deadlines, he noted. Hungary is striving for a fair agreement, and the government is totally committed to fulfilling its pledges, he added.