Spain, among EU countries who most lowered teachers' salaries

SPAIN – A recent report from the European Commission reveals that teachers’ salaries came down between 13% and 17% in Spain between 2009 and 2014, which places her in the lower pay group with Ireland, Romania, Slovenia and Iceland. “It is not surprising that the most significant reductions happened in those countries that were most impacted by the financial crisis,” the document points out, adding that the most severe reductions were registered in Greece, where teachers’ wages dropped by 40%. Spain was in a group where teachers reach their maximum level in the medium-to-long-term period of time that ranges from age 27 in Turkey to 39 in this country. Other reports state that Spain ‘lost’ over 24,000 teachers in two years, and that the Ministry of Education is planning to make changes to the law that will allow it to make further reductions. Perhaps it is not surprising, then, that Spain is pretty much at the bottom of the annual PISA report that comes from the OECD (about which more when the next one comes up).