Nationwide Teachers' Strike in Hungary

From 8 am this Wednesday morning, the Teachers' Union and the Democratic Union of Teachers called a nationwide indefinite strike in Hungary. They are demanding a pay raise for teachers, a reduction in their compulsory teaching hours and an increase in the salaries of non-teaching staff working in schools.

Teachers participated in the strike not only in the capital, but also in many schools in rural towns. In some cases, parents were there in person to support the teachers. The number of teachers and schools involved in the strike will only be known later, but according to the ministry responsible, only 13% of teachers went on strike on Wednesday.

Teachers in several institutions decided to resort to civil disobedience instead, as the government's February decree stipulates so many sufficient services that they say the strike will hardly be felt.

The Teachers' Union and the Democratic Union of Teachers are expected to tally the number of teachers on strike by Thursday. Warnings from school principals or state-run school districts may have led to schools backing out of the strike, while in others, on the contrary, more teachers protested.

Thousands of secondary school students have shown solidarity with the teachers. They rallied in three places in Budapest, and at noon, held a loud and peaceful demonstration in front of the Parliament in Kossuth Square. In the afternoon, hundreds of would-be teacher students took part in a demonstration outside the Ministry of Human Resources, which, in the absence of an independent portfolio, is responsible for education. Speakers stressed that they want to teach and that the government must give them a perspective.