A case initiated with respect to norms that set the amount of remuneration for teachers working at institutions of pre-school education
On 12 August 2022, the 1st Panel of the Constitutional Court initiated the case “On Compliance of Para 3 of Table 4 of Annex 1 and Para 7 of Annex 3 of the Cabinet Regulation of 5 July 2016 No. 445 “Regulations Regarding Remuneration of Teachers” with the First Sentence of Article 91 and Article 107 of the Satversme of the Republic of Latvia”, on the basis of an application (application No. 127/2022), submitted by thirty-eight Members of the Saeima.
The Contested norms
Para 3 of Table 4 of Annex 1 of the Cabinet Regulation of 5 July 2016 No. 445 “Regulations Regarding Remuneration of Teachers” (hereafter – Regulation No. 445) provides that the lowest monthly wage rate for pre-school teachers is EUR 872.
Para 7 of Annex 3 of Regulation No. 455 provides that the weekly workload of a pre-school teacher is 40 astronomical hours, of which 36 hours are envisaged for teaching lessons and classes, whereas the annual workload is 1760 hours (hereafter jointly – the contested norms).
Norms of Higher Legal Force
The first sentence of Article 91 of the Satversme of the Republic of Latvia (hereafter – the Satversme) provides: “All human beings in Latvia shall be equal before the law and the courts.”
Article 107 of the Satversme provides: “Every employed person has the right to receive, for work done, commensurate remuneration which shall not be less than the minimum wage established by the State, and has the right to weekly holidays and a paid annual vacation.”
The Facts
The case has been initiated with respect to an application, submitted by thirty-eight Members of the 13th convocation of the Saeima (hereafter – the Applicant).
The contested norms provide that the hourly remuneration for teachers working at institutions of pre-school education is lower than for the rest of teachers working in institutions of general education.
The Applicant holds that the contested norms are incompatible with the first sentence of Article 91 of the Satversme, i.e., the right of pre-school teachers to equality is not respected. Pre-school teachers and teachers of general education are said to be comparable and are in similar circumstances because persons, belonging to both groups, are representatives of a regulated profession, similar job duties have been set for them and similar rights have been granted to them. It is alleged that the contested norms envisage differential treatment because lower hourly remuneration rate has been set for pre-school teachers compared to the one set for general education teachers.
The Applicant, likewise, is of the view that the contested norms are incompatible with Article 107 of the Satversme because the lower monthly salary rate, defined therein, in conjunction with the workload is not fair. Pre-school teachers have the right to receive remuneration that is commensurate with the work done, taking into account the conditions of employment, the required level of skills and education for doing the job, official responsibility and workload.
Legal Proceedings
The Constitutional Court has requested the institution, which issued the contested act, i.e., the Cabinet, to submit to the Constitutional Court its written reply presenting the facts of the case and legal reasoning by 12 October 2022.
- The term for preparing the case is 12 January 2023.
The Court shall decide on the procedure and date for hearing the case after the case is prepared.
- The decision on initiation of the case is available here.
Press release in PDF is available here.
Linked case: 2022-31-03