Social Democrats MP Romana Nikolic on Monday called for amendments to the Education Act in order to positively resolve the status of teaching assistants, the method of their employment and a uniform salary.

Addressing a press conference, Nikolic said that there are more than 4,000 teaching assistants in Croatia who work with children with special needs, but their status is very poorly regulated and this has been ongoing for about the past fifteen years.

She underlined that some assistants work on the basis of employment contracts and that their work ceases at the end of each school year, after which they have to wait for a new tender to be advertised, depending on the needs of individual schools.

Other assistants who work on the basis of casual contracts are in an even more difficult situation because they work all year round, but without pension contributions, they are not entitled to Christmas bonuses and holiday pay, and they are paid according to the number of hours worked, added Nikolic.

She warned that teaching assistants earn less than the minimum wage with an average hourly rate of HRK 20, which varies from county to county and ranges from HRK 19 in Koprivnica-Krizevci County to HRK 35 in Dubrovnik.

Nikolic believes that the poor status of teaching assistants directly affects the children who need their assistance and that their work, although painstaking, is worth every second of the effort.

Social Democrats deputy leader MP Domagoj Hajdukovic said he believes that teaching assistants’ earnings are “very miserable” considering inflation and that it is time to guarantee these people the minimum dignity they deserve.