Material labor rights of teachers in the Republic of Croatia - are educational workers an underpaid profession / Radno-materijalna prava učitelja i nastavnika u Republici Hrvatskoj – jesu li

Vatroslav Zovko

University of Zagreb, Faculty of Teacher Education

vatroslav.zovko@ufzg.hr

Education for personal and professional development

Abstract

Human resources in education represent are a prerequisite for the survival and development of the education sector. However, the European Union and Croatia are facing the problem of an increasing shortage of teaching staff due to several factors, including labor rights. The material labor rights of teaching staff workers are regulated primarily by the Labor Act, but also by special laws related to the education system. Major changes related to salary determination were made by the adoption of a new legal framework that regulates the salary system for the entire public sector in the Republic of Croatia that defines universal salary classes.

In this paper, an overview of the factors affecting the growing shortage of teaching staff in primary and secondary schools was made. The genesis of the legal framework in the Republic of Croatia, which regulates the status and labor material rights of teachers in primary and secondary schools, is presented. A presentation of teaching staff salaries and a comparison of salaries in relation to the average salary in the EU27 countries was made. Salaries were analysed on a monthly basis and compared with other employees in the public sector, corrected for effective working hours.

The issue of possible underpayment was viewed in the context of the Salary Ordinance and was compared with other public sector employees. From the analysis of the legal framework, it is evident that teaching staff in primary and secondary schools belong to the category of lower paid highly educated employees in the public sector. Considering the demanding nature of the studies and the small opportunities for advancement, the material labor rights regulated by the existing legal framework make work in education less attractive compared to other jobs in the public sector.

Key words

legal framework; primary and secondary school; salaries; teaching staf

Vatroslav Zovko

University of Zagreb, Faculty of Teacher Education

vatroslav.zovko@ufzg.hr

Odgoj i obrazovanje za osobni i profesionalni razvoj

Sažetak 

Ljudski potencijali u odgoju i obrazovanju predstavljaju ključ opstojnosti i razvoja sektora obrazovanja. Međutim, Europska unija pa tako i Hrvatska suočavaju se s problemom sve većega nedostatka nastavnoga kadra zbog niza čimbenika među kojima su i radno-materijalna prava. Radno-materijalna prava radnika nastavnoga osoblja regulirana su prvenstveno Zakonom o radu, ali i specijalnim zakonima koji se odnose na sustav odgoja i obrazovanja. Velike promjene po pitanju određivanja plaća nastale su donošenjem novoga zakonskoga okvira kojima se sustav plaća regulira na razini cijeloga javnoga sektora u Republici Hrvatskoj te se objedinjuje uz jedinstvene plate razrede.

U ovom radu napravljen je pregled čimbenika koji utječu na sve veći manjak nastavnoga kadra u osnovnim i srednjim školama. Prikazana je geneza zakonskoga okvira u Republici Hrvatskoj kojim se regulira status te radno-materijalna prava nastavnika u osnovnim i srednjim školama. Napravljen je prikaz plaća nastavnoga kadra te usporedba plaća u odnosu na prosječnu plaću u 27 država Europske unije. Plaće su analizirane na mjesečnoj razini te uspoređivane s drugim zaposlenicima u javnom sektoru korigirano za efektivne sate rada.

Pitanje eventualne potplaćenosti sagledavano je u kontekstu Uredbe o plaćama te je uspoređivano s drugim zaposlenicima javnoga sektora. Iz analize zakonskoga okvira vidljivo je da nastavno osoblje u osnovnim i srednjim školama spada u kategoriju niže plaćenih visoko obrazovnih zaposlenika u javnom sektoru. Uzimajući u obzir zahtjevnost studija i male mogućnosti napredovanja radno-materijalna prava uređena postojećim zakonskim okvirom čine rad u odgoju i obrazovanju manje privlačnim u odnosu na druga radna mjesta u javnom sektoru.

Ključne riječi

nastavno osoblje; osnovna i srednja škola; plaće; zakonski okvir