The National Federation of Teachers (Fenprof) announced that after protests, petitions, rallies, and strikes, along with multiple meetings with the Ministry of Education, a solution was approved that the federation considers favorable despite some shortcomings. The joint decree was signed on Tuesday by the State and Finance Minister and the Minister of Education, Science, and Innovation, permitting management changes to the salary positioning of higher education institution (IES) teachers.
University and polytechnic faculty advance in their careers after six uninterrupted years of top evaluations. However, the legislation also envisions “management advancements” contingent on the institutions’ regulations and within the financial limits set annually by a government decree.
The government explained that while this progression has been outlined in the teaching career statutes since 2009, the annual decree specifying the maximum financial burden has never been published.
Fenprof highlighted that thousands of faculty members have been stuck on the same salary scale for many years, experiencing a continuous decline in pay.
“This situation, along with the rising cost of living, contributed to around a 20% decrease in the real wages of higher education faculty over the last 15 years, alongside a significant socioprofessional devaluation,” noted the union.
The Education Minister, Fernando Alexandre, had already promised university rectors and polytechnic presidents efforts to resolve the issue.
Alongside the annual decree outlined in the teaching career statutes, a second document was signed. It enables salary progressions absent due to the lack of the annual decree to proceed, provided there is budgetary availability within the institutions.
“The publication of the decree confirms once more that fighting for rights is worthwhile,” states Fenprof, cautioning that the decree does not fully restore fairness as implementation depends on the budgetary resources of universities and polytechnics, which in many cases are “limited or even non-existent.”
“Without relinquishing unresolved matters, it is now up to the teachers and Fenprof to verify each institution’s application of the decree to prevent restrictive interpretations and practices,” it states.
