Three-quarters of Polish schools on strike - union head
By 10 am on Tuesday, 74.29 percent of all Polish schools were on strike, Sławomir Broniarz, leader of the Polish Teachers' Union, has said. The teachers' protest started on Monday after negotiations with the government over wages and work conditions failed.
Teachers are demanding an immediate PLN 1,000 gross raise, as well as changes in their working conditions. The government says the budget cannot afford such a big raise at the moment, and suggests incremental increases be spread out over a longer period of time.
Two of the three main teachers' unions went on strike, with some teachers from the third one also joining in.
The percentages of striking schools varied across Poland's 16 provinces, with the highest protest rate, 87.72 percent, recorded in the central-north Kujawsko-Pomorskie province and the lowest - 55.17 percent - in the south-eastern Podkarpackie province. (PAP)
jd/ jch/
