In France, teachers who are victims of a "real salary downgrading"

After fifteen years of career, a French teacher in primary school earns 37,700 gross dollars (34,140 euros) a year, when his German counterpart earns him nearly double with an annual gross income of 74,486 dollars (67,450 euros) . This is one of the lessons of the latest annual report "Insights on Education", published Tuesday, September 10 by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): in France, teachers are paid less than their counterparts in the United States. OECD member countries.

According to this report, the salary of French teachers is 7% lower than the average for OECD countries at the start of their careers. Then, the gap widens considerably in mid-career with French teachers at all levels, who earn 22% less than the average of developed countries. The gap narrows, however, strongly at the end of the career, according to the OECD, since French wages are only 2% lower than the average.

The disparities are even more striking for primary school teachers who are on average younger, less often aggregated and have less opportunity to work overtime or to have access to bonuses than high school teachers. A situation denounced for several years SNUipp, the main union of primary teachers.

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"The OECD report brings water to our mill and strengthens our positions, says Francette Popineau, SNUipp, contacted by France 24. There is today a big delta between what we earn and what our European colleagues. "

In fact, the discrepancies noted in the report "Education at a Glance" concerning primary school teachers are considerable, especially in mid-career: - $ 4,411 in relation to Slovenia, - $ 9,407 in relation to Spain - $ 19,506 in relation to Denmark, - $ 25,713 in relation to the Netherlands, - $ 36,786 in relation to Germany and - $ 70,924 in relation to Luxembourg.

OECD Chart: Teacher Salaries, Primary, 15 years of experience, US Dollars, Yearly, 2017 - 2018

The OECD report also shows that the evolution of the salary of qualified teachers with fifteen years of seniority between 2000 and 2018 has increased in half of the OECD countries. But in England, France and Greece, the opposite is true: teachers' salaries fell by 3%, up to 6% and by 17% respectively.

School : an investment or a simple expense ?

"This situation is explained by the freezing of the index point since 2010, says Francette Popineau.We are victims of a real downgrading.The Education Minister must hasten to open discussions because there is urgency to settle this question. "

The low level of wages raises the question of the attractiveness of the teaching profession. SNUipp recognizes that it is increasingly difficult to find candidates and attract the best students. As a result, the level of teachers has been declining for several years.

The OECD study also has the merit of bending the neck of a common place on the working time of teachers. At the primary level, French teachers work 900 hours a year, while the OECD average is 794 hours. "There is a tendency in France to think that we are paid less because we work less, but the data show that it is wrong," points Francette Popineau.

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French teachers must finally manage more children, since they have an average of 19.6 per class, while the OECD average is 15.1.

"Countries that are successful in international evaluations have made efforts by playing on three levers: the workforce, training and salaries," says Francette Popineau. "The whole question is whether or not we bet on the school. does it consider it an investment for the future or just additional expenses? "

During his presidential campaign in 2017, Emmanuel Macron said he wanted to focus on primary school to reduce inequalities "from the root." His flagship promise to halve CP and CE1 enrollment in the REP (Priority Education Network) and REP + areas was met. But for SNUipp, that's not enough. "The famous priority in primary, we still waiting to see in terms of pay.It will have to give a few pledges to teachers," warns Francette Popineau. The Minister of Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, announced the opening of a dialogue on the issue.