Within sight of the state elections, the CSU swung around and promised the same starting salary for all teachers. Possibly due to ongoing pressure from their own coalition partner. But Markus Söder’s announcements are not enough for the free voters.
Bad Staffelstein (dpa / lby) – After long resistance from the CSU, Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) promised better pay for primary and secondary school teachers. Starting with the next legislative period, the starting salary is to be gradually increased to A13, starting with middle school. Söder announced this on Wednesday at the CSU parliamentary group retreat in the Upper Franconian Banz monastery. That’s not enough for the coalition partner, the Free Voters: They want the rate to be raised more quickly and immediately, not just for middle school teachers, but also for primary school teachers.
With the announcement that A13 will be gradually introduced for all teachers, Söder is responding to the staff shortages in many Bavarian schools – and to demands from associations, the opposition and his own coalition partner, some of which have been going on for years. There are currently bottlenecks, especially at elementary, middle and special schools. As a first step, according to Söder, there should be an appeal to teachers who work part-time to voluntarily teach one more lesson. And then there is the gradual transition to A13. “We still have concerns, so only gradually,” admitted the CSU chairman.
Free voter boss and Vice Prime Minister Hubert Aiwanger is not fast enough. “It’s great that the CSU is now moving on the A13,” he said. “As Free Voters, however, we want to take the first concrete steps in this legislative period, not just as a promise for after the election.” In addition, the A13 increase must apply equally to primary school teachers and middle school teachers.
Minister of Education Michael Piazolo (Free Voters) also said that Söder’s announcement was “in the right direction”. “We are pleased that the long-standing FW demand that has been consistently put forward to the coalition partner is now bearing fruit.” The increase in starting salaries for primary and secondary school teachers that has now been announced is “an important sign of appreciation”.
But Piazolo also demanded more speed. “The equal starting salary for all teaching positions should not only be implemented in the coming legislative period, but starting with the next budget,” he said. In addition, the higher starting salary for primary and secondary school teachers should be “introduced in unison”. FW parliamentary group leader Florian Streibl said: “It is important to us that a gap in justice is closed and that both primary and secondary school teachers benefit from the better pay.”
The President of the Bavarian Teachers’ Association, Simone Fleischmann, praised the fact that the CSU had finally understood. “We at BLLV have been fighting for decades to ensure that primary and secondary school teachers earn just as much as their colleagues at other types of schools.” If the CSU keeps its promise, all teachers will finally be worth the same. The state chair of the GEW education union, Martina Borgendale, said: “What takes a long time will finally be good.” However, both types of school would then have to be taken into account at the same time.
The Bavarian Association of Philologists (bpv), which represents teachers at grammar schools and vocational high schools, expressed skepticism. “The announcement by the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder came as a surprise and we are very surprised,” said bpv chairman Michael Schwägerl. “The measure means high expenditure of tax money in the three-digit million range, without hiring an additional teacher or teaching an additional hour,” he warned. A13 for all teachers is “not a solution to the acute and medium-term shortage of teachers”. “What would actually make the teaching profession attractive would be massive investments in additional support staff and relief measures for the existing teachers.”
