Paris (AFP)
The Minister of Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, assured Wednesday that the salary increases promised to teachers, currently under discussion, would be substantial, while reaffirming that part of the increases would be "on merit".
"The objective is that we will be during the decade 2020 one of the countries which pays its teachers the best," said the minister on France Info, speaking of a "cycle of increases as there is none hasn't had in the past. "
"What will happen, it will not be little ones, it will be extremely substantial, over a lifetime it will represent several tens of thousands of euros for the people concerned," he added.
In this context of the pension reform, discussed since Monday in the National Assembly, the government is committed that salary increases will guarantee the same level of retirement for teachers, who could potentially lose a lot.
But the minister reiterated on Wednesday that part of the increases would be "on merit", which the unions see as an affront.
Referring to the revaluations, Mr. Blanquer stressed that there would be "a uniform share and necessarily a share of merit, it already exists a little". He gave the example of teachers who would like to invest in "free courses" to improve their remuneration.
"We are going to offer CM2 students during the spring break and at the end of August to have free intensive lessons to upgrade before entering 6th," he said in particular.
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