Voltri pushed back on claims that teachers are happy with the government's plan. Speaking on ETV's "Terevisioon" Thursday morning, he said society as a whole shouldn't accept it either.

He noted Estonia's average salary is forecast to rise 11 percent next year. With teachers getting less, "teachers are actually far from being satisfied," he said.

Even a 10-percent increase to the salary fund would translate to just 8.2 percent guaranteed for teachers. Voltri acknowledged that would be a step in the right direction, but he stressed it's not enough to address the nationwide teacher shortage.

Too few qualified teachers are entering the profession, he said, "And that is actually a major threat to our education and its quality."

Currently, the minimum monthly teacher salary is €1,820 for a 35-hour workweek. A 10 percent increase would raise that to €1,970 — but if the national average hits €2,200, as forecast, then a teacher with a master's degree would still fall short.

Voltri said that while such an increase would at least stop their pay from falling further behind, it won't actually leave teachers satisfied.

He also pointed to the union's goal of raising teachers' salaries to 120 percent of the national average.

"Right now, [the minimum] is nearly 15 percentage points lower than the national average," the union chief said. "Even if we achieve an increase of 8-point-something percent, teachers would earn at best 91, 90 percent of the average — leaving 10 percentage points to go."

Referencing the government's state budget strategy, which outlines no new increases after 2026, Voltri emphasized that certainty about raises in the years ahead is just as important as next year's hike, so current and future teachers alike can be assured their pay will remain competitive.

"Pay remains an essential factor, and right now it unfortunately isn't competitive," he added.

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