The strategic view of the cultural sector, funding and the salaries of cultural workers are currently on the agenda. That's how it should be. If our culture and the well-being of creators do not concern society, something is very wrong. However, the situation in which we are currently managing as a country must be perceived in this issue as well. The explanation here is not meant to downplay the topic, far from it, but to open up the context, which is also important in addition to emotions.
During the recently concluded budget talks, several important decisions were made in terms of cultural policy. One of the biggest of these was the salary issue of our cultural workers, coaches and collective leaders – this was an indisputable priority of the Ministry of Culture, for which we prepared throughout the year. This meant collecting data that would show the actual state of the field and help argue the need for funds, as well as various meetings and explanations in the public sector. The importance of culture is very clearly perceived by the field and the ministry, but one of the tasks of the ministry is also to carry out broader explanatory work.
About the salaries of cultural workers
The last time the salaries of cultural workers increased was in 2023 – at that time, the minimum wage of cultural workers with higher education who receive a salary from the state was increased by 200 euros, from 1400 euros to 1600 euros, but in addition to that, the heads of institutions were given 7.34 million euros in additional salary funds, i.e. additional money for the so-called salary fund, the distribution of which could be decided by the heads of the institutions themselves when determining salaries. When we talk about salary figures, we mean the gross salary, i.e. the amount from which the employer withholds income tax and the employee's unemployment insurance premium, the employer adds social tax and the employer's unemployment insurance tax to it. The state allocates salary funds to the employer with all taxes, not just in the gross amount.
The heads of the agencies in the ministry's area of administration have made it clear that raising the minimum wage is important, but it is even more important to increase the salary fund, which gives a freer hand and greater decision-making opportunities. Our cultural institutions are led by absolute experts in their fields, who have the best overview of which employees should be additionally supported from the salary fund. The national minimum wage for cultural workers is an important indication, for example, for local governments in the remuneration of cultural workers, but the salary fund also allows for an increase in the remuneration of other employees, including support staff. Ensuring a minimum wage for cultural workers with higher education is mandatory in the area of administration of the ministry and the state allocates funds for it, but determining salaries is still the choice, obligation and task of the heads of institutions. This task is fulfilled by the above-mentioned salary fund. Quite a few institutions are already adding funds to the salary fund from their own revenues (e.g. ticket sales), but in order for managers to have more freedom to determine salaries, among other things, according to work contribution, responsibilities or other agreed criteria, additional money from the state should also be allocated to the salary fund.
Several sectors have been waiting for a salary increase for a long time – in addition to cultural workers, collective leaders and coaches of the Song and Dance Festival, teachers, rescuers and police officers, for example. In all areas, inflation and the cost of living are eating into wages. In the complicated budget situation, it is therefore significant that the Ministry of Culture was allocated a total of 9 million euros to raise salaries next year. In addition, the government allocated €900,000 to various ministries to increase the salary fund of cultural workers, as there are also cultural workers in the areas of government of the Ministry of Education and Research, the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, and the Ministry of Climate Change. In other words, a total of 9.9 million euros will be received for salaries in the field of culture.
The additional money will allow to raise the national minimum salary of cultural workers with higher education from 1600 euros to 1720 euros. Thanks to the good work of the heads of cultural institutions, fewer and fewer people are receiving the national minimum, and organisations have found a way to raise salaries from their own resources in advance. In addition, the salary fund of the agencies will be increased by a total of 6 million euro, i.e. 7%. All in all, the average gross monthly salary of a cultural worker who receives a salary from the state, i.e. the total amount of salary with various additional salaries, will increase to 2200 euros per month in 2026, according to the information and forecast collected by the ministry this year. The Ministry of Culture has agencies with very different financial capacities and management, but years of monitoring have shown that on average, our institutions pay additional remuneration of nearly 10% of the general salary fund.
Over the past week, the complicated salary issue of the National Orchestra has been a topic of much discussion. Our highly educated, world-class performers clearly deserve to be rewarded for their work. However, the complicated situation does not only concern ENSO, but the entire field of culture in general, as well as other top-level ensembles in Estonia. The management of the National Orchestra has indicated that the budget would need to be increased by €900,000 in order to raise salaries. To illustrate what 900,000 euros means in the field of culture – the annual operating support of the Estonian Festival Orchestra conducted by Paavo Järvi is 400,000 euros for 2026, while the Arvo Pärt Centre has 470,000 euros. In a situation where there is no additional money coming, you have to take it from somewhere when you give it to someone.
For comparison, the remuneration of national orchestras in neighbouring countries. For example, in Finland, the average salary of a national orchestra is 76% of the national average and in Latvia it is 88%. In Estonia, it is 82%. Of course, we have nothing to cheer about, and the salary level in Estonia is lower than in our northern neighbours, where the salaries of the representative orchestra, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, do indeed start at 3500 euros and reach 5300 euros, while in smaller orchestras the salaries start at 2400 euros. At the same time, the average salary in Finland is 4148 euros.
In Estonia, the salaries of orchestra members in ENSO start at 1640 euros and reach 2900 euros, while the Estonian average in the last quarter was 2126 euros. However, the average salary of an orchestra member of the Latvian National Orchestra was 1583 euros both this year and next year. Already this year, before next year's salary increases, it will be more than 1800 euros for us at ENSO. From the new year, the difference between the gross salary of our and Latvian representative orchestra members will grow even greater, as the Estonian state's operating support for ENSO will increase by more than 220,000 euros, from 3.8 million to more than 4 million euros. This is essentially an additional month's salary fund for orchestra members, with which managers can make wise salary decisions.
More about cultural funding
On Monday, ERR reported on the reduction of the cultural budget until 2029, pointing out that such a big change has not been noticed in the case of most other ministries. However, the ministry's budget changes from year to year for various reasons, not just because of cuts. The biggest changer in this context is investments.
Several important cultural buildings are in progress and will soon be completed – next year, we can rejoice in the opening of the Tallinn Art Hall, which was renovated for 10 million euros, and in 2027, the National Library of Estonia, which has been renovated for 105 million euros, will open. These investments include EUR 14 million for the completion of works in 2026 and EUR 5.6 million in 2027. Significant sports investments have also been made – from 2020 to 2022, the ministry exceptionally supported the construction of multifunctional football halls across Estonia, for which 6 million euros were allocated annually. Or another example – in the year of the Song and Dance Celebration, funds will be allocated extraordinarily to cover the costs of organising the festival. This year, 3.5 million, and in 2028, when the party will be even bigger, the support received will probably be higher, but the current state budget strategy does not reflect this. It is a separate issue whether the financing of such an important event should be done by an extraordinary decision of the government, but at the moment it is.
All these numbers have a significant impact on the ministry's relatively small budget and share in the state budget. When the buildings are completed, it means that the ministry's budget will decrease by the amount of these investment subsidies – this is not a matter of savings, but of the usual logic of changing the budget. Also, the current funding period for European Union grants will end in 2027 and the funds for the new period have not yet been planned in the budget. The funds for the current period of external funds in the budget in 2028 and 2029 will decrease, as activities have already been carried out to a large extent before these years. At the same time, nearly 70% of the budget of the Ministry of Culture in the field of integration and adaptation consists of foreign funds. When it becomes clear for what purpose and in what volume the foreign funds of the new period will be calculated, these amounts will also be included in the budget of the Ministry of Culture in the state budget strategy.
But also about savings. The government set a goal of saving 10% in government sector spending over three years, i.e. by 2027. For the Ministry of Culture, this means savings of 21 million euros in 2026 from the support to be transferred. In the meantime, the agreements made in the government last year have not been changed, neither one way nor the other. Our belligerent eastern neighbour has not stopped its aggressive foreign policy, which requires all countries bordering Russia to increase defence spending and thus also difficult budget choices in other areas.
These are difficult times and it is understandable that we are concerned about the culture that offers support to many of us in difficult moments and is the basis of the nation's existence. Culture has not been turned around, on the contrary, additional funds were found for the field in difficult circumstances. On the other hand, it is clear that the need is always greater – both due to the rising cost of living and the development wishes of our world-class ambitious cultural organisers.
More frugal time allows and obliges us to set priorities – how much and what we support from the state. This does not mean that anyone will start setting quotas and restrictions on culture in a free country. The complicated financial situation shows that the state has assumed obligations for which there are no longer enough funds received from taxes. The number of taxpayers is decreasing, the number of people in need of support is increasing. That is why I am calling for a discussion – what difficult choices are we willing to make, what and how much to finance from the common purse of the state? What are the pillars of culture that carry our values the most? Are we ready to say that someone's contribution and value is greater than someone else's? How do we support traditions, how do we support newcomers?
The discussion about what we as a state can support and maintain, where the shoe is squeezing the most, and what is unavoidably necessary for the preservation and development of our language and culture, can only be held by society as a whole. From these discussions, wise and well-founded choices must then be made from the point of view of cultural policy.
https://www.kul.ee/uudised/konteksti-kultuurieelarve-lugemiseks