2023-10-02 13:02:00
This Monday opens European Teachers’ Week. On this occasion, the common education union front in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation will be invited to the government headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday morning. Objective: to officially submit to the Minister-President and his ministers the ten key European demands formulated as part of the “Making education more attractive” campaign organized by the ETUCE (the European Trade Union Committee for Education) which represents more than 11 million teachers in 51 countries in Europe.
Following this action, work stoppages will be observed in schools to inform and raise awareness among teachers.
At the top of the demands is professional autonomy. “A sustainable and effective public financing model is essential to resist the privatization and commercialization of the education sector,” it reads. “Empowering means providing the necessary resources in terms of staff and budgets to enable educational institutions to thrive, providing the highest quality of education.”
To ensure that newcomers stay in their jobs, according to the ETUCE, an effective start to their career should be supported. To do this, working conditions must be improved. This includes job security and attractive career paths with professional development opportunities.
Permanent contracts
Precisely, permanent contracts must replace fixed-term contracts in order to respond to the problem of unpredictable and often unregulated working hours.
Unions still demand that governments guarantee decent salaries for teachers: “these must be at least equal to the salary level of other professionals who have similar qualifications.” They urge them to take into account the increasing cost of living.
Another loyalty lever: quality training and continuing professional development are essential to making teaching an attractive profession. “They should be free and offered during working hours.”
Along the same lines, teacher safety and well-being, both psychological and physical, need to be improved.
It is necessary, also says the European Trade Union Committee, to put in place a recruitment policy which seeks to attract to teaching all the diversity of society in terms of sex, sexual orientation, special educational abilities and needs and status. economic, In short, integrate equality with ad hoc recruitment strategies.
A better work-life balance
The platform also claims a better balance between professional and private life. “Excessive workload is a universal challenge that must be addressed immediately.” She therefore recommends no longer referring only to “teaching hours” but to speaking in “working hours” to reduce the number of unpaid overtime hours, particularly for those in precarious employment. And note that “despite the increase in workload, many countries have not increased salaries in the education sector and few have recruited new educational staff”.
To create a positive and democratic school culture, it is essential to embrace collaborative and collegial leadership. Furthermore, the work of management must be recognized and valued.
Finally, strong and meaningful social dialogue must be maintained at all levels.
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