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Polish education reform and teacher wage protests

Updated 13 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

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2026-09-30 08:06 UTC → 2026-10-09 02:53 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The Polish Teachers’ Union (ZNP) continues to press for significant wage increases, specifically demanding a 15 percent raise for 2027. This demand directly challenges the 3 percent increase currently outlined in the 2027 state budget proposal. The ZNP argues that the proposed budget is insufficient to maintain parity with the broader economy or to address staffing shortages, noting that previous adjustments have failed to compensate for the loss of purchasing power caused by inflation. A central pillar of the union’s platform remains the legal requirement to link teacher salaries to the national average wage to ensure automatic indexation. The ZNP maintains that current pay levels remain too close to the national minimum wage rather than the national average. Education Minister Barbara Nowacka has reiterated that the government coalition is committed to systemic and regular salary growth, describing the citizen-led pay initiative as a ‘commitment of our entire coalition.’ She noted that teacher wages have increased by over 40 percent since she took office, though she acknowledged that further improvements are necessary. In addition to base salary disputes, Polish local governments have recently withheld positive opinions on proposed amendments to the Teacher Charter. These amendments aim to raise the base rate for beginning teachers from 120% to 122.7696% to align their raises with more experienced staff. However, discussions between the ministries of education and finance and local government teams have reached an impasse, as local authorities seek explicit guarantees that the necessary funds will be included in the upcoming budget to cover these mandatory increases. Furthermore, discussions regarding teacher motivation bonuses are expected to evolve as Poland works to transpose national regulations concerning pay equality and transparency, addressing current inconsistencies in how these bonuses are applied across institutions.

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