Teachers’ union flags risk of 70,000 job losses as Rada pushes salary reform

The Trade Union of Education and Science Workers has accused the Verkhovna Rada of attempting to significantly curtail the labor rights of pedagogical staff during the second reading of the 2026 draft state budget.

According to the union’s website, the proposed salary reform would not only raise the teaching load to 22 hours per week (which, by its estimates, would reduce the number of full-time equivalents by 22% and result in the dismissal of more than 70,000 teachers), but would also shift all teachers to fixed-term contracts of one to five years, reduce seniority bonuses for educators with 10–20 years of experience, and abolish salary increments for professional teaching categories.

However, Serhiy Babak, Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science and Innovation, insisted that there would be no mass layoffs and that the reform would be financially beneficial for teachers.

According to Babak, general secondary education institutions currently have 315,819 teaching positions, while only 271,891 teachers actually work in them.

"This means that 43,928 positions are vacant and are either covered through part-time employment (mostly) or remain unfilled. This shortage is the reality of the system, especially in rural schools and frontline communities," Babak wrote.

If the weekly workload is increased from 18 to 22 hours, the system will face a deficit of 13,494 full-time equivalents.

"But here we need to consider the following — employment contracts. If you read the proposed provision carefully: ‘By August 31, 2026, the heads of institutions... are required to terminate indefinite employment contracts with teaching staff and simultaneously conclude (with their consent) fixed-term contracts for a period of one to five years without a competitive selection.’ This means that no one will be dismissed. This is the direct effect of the law," Babak wrote.

He acknowledged that some teachers will not receive a full 22-hour load but maintained that "even in this case, their salary will be higher than it is now."

After the reform, a beginning teacher working part-time at 18 hours could earn up to UAH 16,343 instead of the current UAH 8,200, and an experienced teacher up to UAH 23,370 instead of UAH 17,258. A full-time teacher would earn between UAH 19,975 and UAH 28,564, depending on experience and bonuses.

"We are talking about a genuine and substantial salary increase, not a temporary top-up that can be withdrawn at any moment. This is a structural change that will work in teachers’ favor," Babak wrote.

• LIGA.net previously reported in 2024 that the number of teachers in Ukraine has been declining every year.In the first two years of the full-scale war, the number of teachers decreased by 12%, or almost 40,000 educators, according to calculations by the Fama research agency commissioned by the Osvitoria NGO. If this trend continues, the teacher shortage could exceed 366,000 by 2030.
• More than 30% of teachers are of retirement or pre-retirement age, and the average age of a Ukrainian teacher is 45. More than 40% plan to leave the profession by 2030.The annual state quota for training teachers is 12,500, but fewer than 20% remain in the profession afterward.