"Over 6 thousand employees before 2017 have been financially treated"/ Kumbaro: Wage indexation has been implemented since January

2026-04-09 12:56:00, Politikë CNA

"Over 6 thousand employees before 2017 have been financially treated"/

During today's developments in the Parliament, Minister of Education Mirela Kumbaro, in a question-and-answer session requested by MP Erisa Xhixho, explained again to the public the legal change through an addition to the pre-university education law that guarantees equal financial treatment to 6,761 educational employees employed before the Bologna system.

"The issues that were just raised have been resolved since the beginning of March, when, with the vote of confidence of this chamber, we approved the changes to the law on pre-university education.

One of the most important changes was related precisely to an injustice, I would say, created over the years in the financial treatment of a category of teachers.

This concerns those who were employed before March 1, 2017, full-time and without a fixed term, and who hold diplomas which, due to the duration of the study programs, were not equivalent to 8 semesters according to the legal framework in force.

I want to assure you that through the legal change, there are 6,761 educational employees who benefit from equal treatment in relation to their colleagues, putting an end to an unfair gap in the salary system.

And to put it in context: this gap became more visible after the historic salary increase that we undertook as a government. In July 2024, for the first time, the average salary of a teacher reached around 950 euros,” said Minister Kumbaro.

Also during her speech, the Minister of Education explained the ministry's commitment to address this issue immediately following the Constitutional Court's decision.

"From day one, the Ministry of Education has been committed to resolving this issue. But in the meantime, it was sent to the Constitutional Court by an interest group, bringing about a temporary blockage until this court makes a decision."

Immediately after the Constitutional Court's decision, we took this issue back as a priority and worked together with the staff of the Ministry of Education over the past months, but also in coordination with the deputies of the Assembly and the Committee on Education, for which I would also like to thank my colleague Evis Kushi. I would also like to express my gratitude to our partners in this process—the Independent Education Union of Albania and the Federation of Education and Science Unions—who have been an important part of this dialogue," the minister continued.

The Minister also emphasized during the communication in the parliament that as of January of this year, the process of indexing salaries by 2.5% has begun and is already reflected in the salaries of teachers and all staff of the pre-university system.

"There are about 30 thousand teachers and employees part of the Ministry of Education apparatus who benefit from this indexation process."

While together with educators, dormitory caretakers, instructors, psychologists, social workers, that is, with all the figures who are an inseparable part of the education sector - regardless of whether they depend directly on the Ministry of Education or not - there are over 36 thousand employees.

As for teachers, this process has been implemented in a unified manner in all Regional Directorates of Pre-University Education.

In any case, the increase has been reflected without exception, with all relevant allowances, guaranteeing fair and correct treatment for every teacher throughout the country," the minister concluded./ CNA