Two thirds of schools in Serbia will continue to strike on Monday by not working at all or cutting classes 15 minutes short that is holding 30-minute lessons in spite of the prime minister's warning that the teachers who strike will not receive salaries.

According to the leaders of the four education unions which organized the strike, over 1,400 schools are expected to go on strike - about 1,000 schools which are members of the three united unions and about 400 which are members of the Union for the Education of Serbia (SOS) which is now independent.

The unions expect that other educational institutions will also join strike, which is planned to last until the government increases teachers' salaries by 24.5 percent.

Although the requests for the payout of jubilee awards and severance pays have been accepted by the government, Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic stated that the 24.5 increase in teachers' salaries is unacceptable and unrealistic, adding that the government will not make any concessions which could jeopardize the economic stability of the country.

On the first day of strike, January 28, 645 schools went on general strike, while 511 had their classes shortened, the data of the unions show.

However, the data released by the Serbian Education Ministry are somewhat different showing that 440 schools went on general strike on Friday, while 637 held shorter classes.