Restructuring at Ministry of Education and Research Raised Salary of Official Who Commented on Treaty of Tartu

The Ministry of Education and Research underwent a restructuring in March, during which nine officials' salaries were adjusted by up to five percent. The salary increase affected, among others, Andero Adamson, head of the language policy department, who previously sparked public discussion with his comment on a proposal to make the Treaty of Tartu anniversary a national holiday. Adamson's base salary is 4,300 euros per month from June 1st.

The Ministry of Education and Research (HTM) underwent a restructuring in March, as a result of which the ministry now has 23 departments instead of the previous 16 departments and 22 domains, and several officials have received salary increases.

According to Henri Lempu, head of HTM's personnel department, the salary adjustment affected a total of nine people in both management and specialist positions. "When pay discrepancies have been identified that could not be justified, we have corrected them. This affected a total of nine people in both management and specialist positions, and salaries have been adjusted by between two and five percent," Lempu explained.

Content of the restructuring

According to Lempu, one of the aims of the reorganisation was to ensure that the ministry's workforce did not grow, and this was successful. The total number of officials remained the same, but the number of departments increased significantly. "Some former heads moved into new department head roles, some into senior advisor roles, and some left. In part, there are also entirely new or significantly changed departments, and public competitions were held for their management positions," Lempu added.

The salary adjustment was partly based on an implemented pay transparency directive, of which the only element actually in use in Estonia is the requirement for equal pay between men and women for work of the same content.

Adamson's comment sparked public debate

Among the officials receiving salary increases is Andero Adamson, head of the language policy department, who came into public focus in May in connection with his response to a proposal by the Estonian Heritage Protection Society to make the Treaty of Tartu anniversary a national holiday.

The official wrote in his response that he was not opposed to the proposal, but the interpretation of the Treaty of Tartu could be difficult for some of the population. Therefore, in his view, the content and meaning of the occasion should be explained in a way that engages all sections of society. The comment sparked widespread debate as to whether such wording is consistent with the valuing of national holidays.

Adamson's base salary is 4,300 euros per month from June 1st.