SUMMARY
OF AGREEMENTS CONCLUDED BY TALO WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF THE
AGREEMENT ON SALARY OF EMPLOYEES OF
THE ESTONIAN REPUBLIC, COVERED BY THE 1994 STATE BUDGET
The
Minister of Social Affairs, Marju Lauristin, and the Chairman of TALO, Toivo
Roosimaa, signed this agreement on 19 November 1993.
The
eighth grade on the general wages scale was approved as an initial grade of the
wages scale of employees belonging to TALO and people with secondary special
education or equivalent special training. Salaries were to be regulated stage
by stage:
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In the first stage an
adjustment of the wages scale took place, allowing introduction of higher wages
scales in the sphere of culture, science, health care and education. From 1
January 1994 a new higher wages scale began to be introduced in the sphere of
health care covered from the budget of health insurance; in the area of
culture, science and education an additional remuneration fund of 25 million
kroons was applied for from the state budget.
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In the second stage from
1 July 1994 a new adjusted wages scale was applied according to new
coefficients to all grades of the scale, for which extra funding of 130 million
kroons was applied for in the supplementary budget of the second half-year.
The
Minister of Social Affairs, Toomas Vilosius, and the Chairman of TALO, Toivo
Roosimaa, signed this agreement on 23 November 1994.
In
1995 it was decided to raise the wages of employees of establishments financed
from the state budget by at least 1.3 times as compared to the level predicted
for the 4th quarter of 1994 – 1,600 kroons per month. In order to do so the
Government devised and adopted on 1 January 1995 a new increased wages scale
with 36 grades, which was introduced during the first quarter of 1995.
The
Minister of Social Affairs, Toomas Vilosius, and the Chairman of TALO, Toivo
Roosimaa, signed this agreement on 10 May 1996.
The
Minister of Social Affairs, Toomas Vilosius, and the Chairman of TALO, Toivo
Roosimaa, signed this agreement on 7 October 1996.
From
1 January 1997 the remuneration fund of cultural and educational establishments
entirely dependent on the state budget and the subsidy (allowing an increase in
the remuneration fund) to public bodies partly dependent on the state budget,
which were covered by the agreement, were increased by an average of 14 per
cent. The Government of the Estonian Republic allocated 50 million kroons from
their reserve capital to grant the 14 per cent salary increase for employees of
the member organisations of TALO involved in education and culture.
AGREEMENT ON THE REMUNERATION FUND
AND SUBSIDIES WAS NOT CONCLUDED IN 1998, as the demand by TALO to increase the minimum salary of specialists
with higher education to 3,745 kroons per month was ignored. On 10 November
1997 the Minister of Social Affairs, Tiiu Aro, and the Chairman of TALO, Toivo
Roosimaa, signed a protocol of disagreement over the remuneration fund and
subsidies for the year 1998. On 27 November 1997 a warning strike took place,
with the participation of 17,000 intellectuals. After that the Riigikogu added
supplementary amounts to the state budget, which were not sufficient to meet
the claims of TALO. On 2 April 1998 negotiations, which had been taking place
through the public arbitrator, were terminated, as they had no prospect of
success. At the same time it was decided that:
1.
the parties would form a
joint work group in order to improve the basis of the wages arrangement of
educational, research and cultural establishments. The work group would submit
recommendations to the Government by 1 September 1998;
2.
the Government would
seek to find options for creating a regional educational foundation in order to
provide small rural schools with supplementary funding;
3.
the member unions of
TALO have a right to negotiate with the ministries and institutions in their
area of government in order to conclude agreements on the wage conditions of
their members;
4.
negotiations on
remuneration in 1999 would begin in April 1998. The parties would aim to
conclude the negotiations by 1 September 1998 the latest.
The
Minister of Social Affairs, Tiiu Aro, and the Chairman of TALO, Toivo Roosimaa,
signed this agreement on 21 September 1998.
According
to the appendices of the agreement, the Government of the Estonian Republic
proposed a wages fund of 1,614.8 million kroons for employees of educational
and cultural establishments (an increase in wages of about 30 per cent) and
subsidies, allocations and operating costs of 1,483.2 million kroons for
cultural, educational and public research establishments, which were not
covered by the previous fund (an increase in wages of about 20 per cent), in
the draft act of the state budget.
Although
in spite of intense negotiations mediated by the public arbitrator the
remuneration agreement for the year 2000 was not concluded, an essential
development for the future was the “Agreement on the basis of wages
arrangements” signed by the Minister of Social Affairs, Eiki Nestor, and the
Chairman of TALO, Toivo Roosimaa, on 20 December 1999. This agreement fixed the
basic principles of wages arrangements for members of TALO depending fully or
partly on the state budget, which would serve as a basis for wages negotiations
in future years.
The
Minister of Social Affairs, Eiki Nestor, and the Chairman of TALO, Toivo
Roosimaa, signed the agreement reached through the public arbitrator on 11 December
2000.
The
parties considered it necessary to improve the wages arrangement for the
members of TALO, creating a negotiation mechanism relying on social
partnership, where one party consisted of TALO and its member unions and the
representatives of the associations of employers of TALO members formed the
other party. The partners of the negotiations are listed in the agreement.
In
the process of improvement of wages arrangements, the aim was set that the
minimum rate of wages for members of TALO with higher education, doing a
full-time job that requires a higher education, should be at least at the level
of the average national monthly salary, which by the end of 2001 was predicted
to be 5,150 kroons.
Compared
with the year 2000, the pay rise for teachers in general education schools and
vocational schools was 15 per cent; in some higher educational establishments
the average increase was 12 per cent; and for cultural workers the increase was
10 per cent.
The
Minister of Social Affairs, Eiki Nestor, and the Chairman of TALO, Toivo
Roosimaa, signed this agreement on 3 October 2001.
In
drawing up a budget for 2002, the propositions on adjusting the grounds of
wages arrangements made by TALO member unions, which are recognised as
employees’ associations, were considered during the negotiations. The
negotiations were based on the proposals of TALO member unions on minimum wage
rates, which are reflected in the appendix of the agreement.
The
representatives of the TALO member unions, in cooperation with the recognised
federations of employers, will compile joint proposals on the minimum wage
rates for 2003 by 1 March 2002. The suggestions made by social partners about
the grounds for wages arrangements and the principles of a competitive wage
policy which would meet their high levels of qualification will be taken into
account while drafting the budget.
In
the process of improvement of the wages arrangements for 2003, it will be
considered that the minimum rate of wages for members of TALO with higher
education, doing a full-time job that requires a higher education, should be at
least at the level of the average national monthly salary, which is predicted
to be 5,350 kroons by the end of 2002, and that its minimum growth in the next
few years should not be less than the growth in the consumer price index
predicted by the Ministry of Finance for the period under agreement.
Aadress: Gonsiori 21, 10147 Tallinn. Tel: 6 419 800, talo@talo.ee