Minister allows payment of wages to strikers
School administrators are allowed to know for themselves whether they will continue to pay the striking teaching staff or not. Legally speaking, schools don't have to pay a salary on a strike day, but it's also not illegal if they do. Minister Arie Slob for Primary and Secondary Education reports this in a letter to the House.
Picture: Fred van Diem
Slob says in answer to parliamentary questions that he cannot take a stand because he does not play a part in it. The terms of employment are a matter between employers and employees. Moreover, school boards can make agreements about this together with, for example, the PO council. The education minister does write: "Although I am not going to discuss it, I do not want to give the impression that I approve the practice of passing on salary to a striking employee."
Peter Kwint, MP for the SP, asked Slob for clarification. After the second strike in primary education on 13 December, the OCW spokespersons no longer took a position on whether or not to continue to pay in the following strikes.
"While I'm not going to get over it, I don't want to give the impression that I approve of the practice of passing on salary to a striking employee."
School boards want to know before a strike whether the ministry will reclaim the money, because money that schools pay to strikers as wages does not, strictly speaking, go to education. On September 28 the Education Magazine reported when asked that the ministry would not reclaim in the national strike when a number of school boards pointed this out. The subsequent strike in December also indicated that the ministry is not reclaiming money. After that, the ministry no longer answered this question.
School boards did not know where they stood during the relay strikes in January, February and March. On April 13, teachers and supporters in the provinces of Limburg and Brabant. The large school group Kindante in Limburg left last week know that they will continue to pay during that day. Teachers who are not paid and are members of a union receive money from the strike fund.
