Education salary not a subject in formation
There is a billion-dollar gap between left and right when it comes to investment in education. Nobody talks about educational salaries. Strange, with major shortages on the way.
Before the elections, Mark Rutte was clear about this in the magazine Schooljournaal of fellow union CNV Education. 'No billions extra are needed', he expressed the widely shared feeling in his VVD. "All the extra money that has been raised in the past has not reduced the number of complaints." At most, Rutte wants to free up money for performance pay, a golden oldie from the VVD stable. 'Now and then a financial thank you to people who have put in a lot of effort and are doing well.' Hardly any extra money and certainly not for a hefty salary step. The VVD is not alone in this. All parties currently sitting at the formation table have hardly reserved any money in their election program for salaries in education.
Of course, formation discussions are not just about education. Will there be tax cuts, how to proceed with the AOW, will extra money be needed for healthcare, the environment or defense? The bickering about this is now in full swing, and if we are to believe the The Hague watchers, it will take weeks.
Big differences
In the analyzes, we keep hearing the Binnenhof commentators about the major differences within the four parties that are now in discussion with each other. Does the VVD bring in enough of the showpieces of tax relief, defense and police? Will CDA manage its health care expenditure? Can GroenLinks live up to the environmental promises? But it is silent about the D66 spearhead education.
While there is a huge gap between left and right.
CDA and VVD want to allocate 200 and 100 million respectively for education. Lean amounts. D66 and GroenLinks are well above that with 3,8 and 2,8 billion. Apparently there is a fundamental difference between left and right about the needs of education. Or do VVD and CDA think that attention to education is not so important for their supporters.
Source: CPB Mapping choices.
No money for salaries
There are also similarities in the field of education. None of the four parties at the formation table allocates money for salaries. VVD is targeting performance pay, while the CDA is targeting MBO. D66 focuses on the workload with reduced classes or fewer hours per week, just like GroenLinks. That's where the largest amounts go in those two election programs. If we take a closer look at the parties that are not at the table now, but may come into the picture later, then the ChristenUnie has no money left for the salaries. The only one that does, is the PvdA, as the biggest loser an unlikely partner in a new cabinet.
Of course, work pressure is an important topic when we look at signals about stress and burnout. But with shortages on the way, the lack of education salaries on the staffing agenda is incomprehensible.
Extra remarkable after five years of zero line, in which the salary difference between education and the market has grown further.
Pinching
Especially in primary education, things are getting harder and harder. By 2025, Centerdata foresees a shortage of 10 thousand primary school teachers. The OECD sees a clear link in several countries between low wages and feminization. In other words: a low salary drives men out of primary education. The question is how long it will take before women also leave primary education because they think they receive a moderate salary for the hard work.
In the salary step-by-step plan of AOb, which appeared before the election, has already been called for the abolition of the LA scale. The action group PO in Actie put it on the map via social media. Employers' organization PO Council also fears that boards without a salary increase will continue to struggle to recruit enough teachers. This has since led to the initiative of PO in Actie into an education-wide manifesto to achieve a fair salary in that sector.
In other education sectors, it is the blow of the zero line that has hit hard. Education salaries are therefore a theme that belongs in the formation discussions. If it is not on the table there, a new coalition for education will start disappointingly. And in the event of a disappointing coalition agreement, it can immediately count on unrest.
