Joseph Thonon, president of CGSP-Enseignement, was at the microphone of DH Radio on Monday morning to announce and explain the teachers’ strike which will take place on Thursday in schools and in the streets of the capital.
“The health crisis was the trigger for teachers’ malaise”, believes Joseph Thonon. “But, more broadly, there are three factors that explain the current fatigue. First, the incessant changes in health rules are straining the nerves of teachers. Then there is the sectoral agreement which is dragging on and which must yet to be negotiated. Then, there are still certain measures of the Excellence Pact which are not always understood by teachers.”
Mask in progress or not? Closing of classes? Teachers are tired of health measures that are changing and affecting the way they teach. Alexander De Croo has not yet confirmed the holding of a consultation committee at the end of the week, but the Prime Minister does not rule out anticipating code orange if the figures are good, synonymous with relaxation. And the latter are firmly expected in education. “I think the mask in basic education is very complicated to apply and should be removed”, advances the president of the CGSP-Teaching.
This Thursday’s strike has a rather exceptional aspect, because the last time teachers had voluntarily closed classes was 11 years ago. “We are waiting for a solid sectoral agreement. It’s not just money. We also want measures to improve the working conditions and the lives of our teachers. For example, there might be measures on the size of classes. And there is a whole series of measures that affect the workload on which we might put tags”, claims Joseph Thonon at the microphone of Maxime Binet.
Today young teachers leave the profession too quickly. “I do not have the figures, but we observe it on the ground”, deplores the representative of the CGSP. “The shortage of teachers is glaring and school principals are having difficulty organizing their class. I think there is only one solution to keep them: the reform of initial training. That is to say teachers better trained thanks to a transition from training to four years and a scale revaluation. The reform is planned, but it is once more postponed to 2023. We add the four years of training. The first teachers will leave in 2027. It’s not quite yet.”
Concretely, this Thursday, what will the day of strike look like? “Schools are obliged to provide childcare. Parents can be reassured, they can drop off their children at school. I really hope that parents will support us in our action. Otherwise the action will take place in two parts : the school strike and a rally in Brussels. We hope to see people there!”, calls Joseph Thonon.
