Advertisement

Bulgaria fails to resolve teachers' strike

SOFIA, Bulgaria, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- State and national leaders failed to reach a breakthrough in talks with Bulgarian teachers’ unions Thursday, the ninth day of a strike.

Teachers, who earn an average $320 a month, are demanding a 100 percent pay increase by mid-2008.

Advertisement

Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov and Education Minister Daniel Velchev reiterated the government’s claim it could increase monthly salaries of teachers at state-run primary and secondary schools only by 30 percent by July, the Sofia News Agency reported.

The two sides could not agree on the number of striking teachers either, with unions saying out of Bulgaria’s 100,000 public school teachers, about 70 percent were on strike, while the government claimed the level was around 30 percent, SNA said.

Latest Headlines