Angolan teachers suspended the start of the third phase of the strike, scheduled for January 3, as scheduled, and gave a moratorium, until the 16th, for the Ministry of Education to present proposals on remuneration, said a union source.
Jjustifies that “we suspended the effectiveness on the 3rd of January and not the third phase of the strike. We had the general assembly last Saturday and the teachers voted on two issues,” said the secretary general of the National Union of Teachers (Sinprof), Admar Jinguma, noting that the moratorium until the 16th of January and the strike on the 3rd of January, as previously defined.
Sinprof’s general secretary explained that the teachers voted on a moratorium so that they wait until the 16th of January for the presentation by the employer of a proposal of scenarios for the alteration of the remuneration status.
Admar Jinguma stressed that it is in the hands of the Ministry of Education and other ministerial departments to present “good proposals on the 16th”.
“Because, if this does not happen, we will obviously carry out the third phase of the strike for a longer period, already for an indefinite period”, he noted.
Angolan educators have already carried out two strike phases: the first between the 21st and 30th of November, and the second between the 6th of December and the 16th of December.
Sinprof submitted the claim booklet to the Ministry of Education in 2019, but so far the parties have not reached an agreement, so teachers have moved to stop classes across the country, with an adherence of almost 100%.
In the claim booklet, with 15 points, they demand the abolition of mono-teaching, distribution of school meals throughout the country, updating of teachers of the second academic level and length of service, payment of subsidies and management and leadership positions, payment in full and not in half of the 13th month and the holiday subsidy and the regularization of the situation of teachers in the categories of the general regime.
Teachers also intend to reduce the Employment Income Tax (IRT) and its exemption in all subsidies, review the career status of education agents, change the remuneration status and subsidies of education agents according to the salary proposal presented by Sinprof and the reinstatement of union leaders in performance evaluation committees.
The non-mandatory use of lab coats, more public tenders for access to comply with the teacher/student ratio, improvements in school infrastructure and the non-commodification of education in Angola – where there are more private schools than public schools – are also included from the list of claims.
IS PROFESSOR SYNONYM OF TRUTH?
RIt should be remembered that, on the 15th, the National Assembly of the MPLA voted against the request to change the agenda by the parliamentary group of UNITA, the largest opposition party that the MPLA still allows in Angola, to discuss the teachers’ strike .
In its request, the UNITA parliamentary group stressed that “the longer the teachers’ strike lasts, the greater the damage to citizens, communities and the country as a whole”, proposing in this sense a discussion on “causes, impacts and proposed solutions”.
The request, which had 84 votes in favor of UNITA, was rejected with 114 votes against by the owner of the kingdom (the MPLA for 47 years) and two abstentions by the mixed parliamentary group of the Social Renovation Party (PRS) and the National Liberation of Angola (FNLA).
“As representatives of all Angolans, we have to understand that all professions depend on a teacher, be it primary, secondary, higher or trades, and, therefore, it is urgent to discuss solutions that are professionally dignified, socially fair, legally foreseen and economically sustainable”, highlighted the UNITA parliamentary group.
For UNITA deputies, “these issues must be discussed urgently, in the representative house of all Angolans, in the sense of having permanent dialogue and proposing lasting solutions”.
It should be remembered that the National Union of Teachers denounced that security guards and cleaning staff were taking the turn of the striking teachers in the process of controlling the exams for the first quarter of the academic year 2022/23.
It is important to recall that the Minister of Education, Luísa Grilo, on 22 November asked general education teachers for “consideration and a vote of confidence”, guaranteeing that the executive was working to resolve their demands. For 47 years, the MPLA has promised to “solve the problems of the People”. The result is in sight. Only believe who wants to.
The “executive is working to respond to the concerns raised, some of which have already been resolved, others are in the process of being resolved, and so I appealed to my colleagues for some consideration, a vote of confidence, because we are working to resolve the their claims,” said the minister.
Luísa Grilo, who was speaking in Zaire province, where she presided over the act of the National Educator’s Day, referred that the body she directs has not yet received written information regarding the national teachers’ strike.
“We actually listened, but we continued to talk with our union partners, even on Friday we met with the union to find mechanisms for permanent dialogue, on the one hand, and on the other hand, find solutions that serve both parties, but we said that we are open to dialogue”, pointed out the minister.
Admar Jinguma, General Secretary of the Union, states: “We have always been open to dialogue and whenever we are called we do not present any formalism, now it is important to say that these conversations at the end of the day have not had any effect”.
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