Education unions announce five days of action in protest at committee proposals
The unions ACOD Education, COC and VSOA Education will organise a five-day demonstration in May in response to a list of proposals set forward by a committee of education experts for professionalising teaching. The unions announced their strike on Thursday morning in a joint statement.
At the request of Flemish Education minister Ben Weyts (N-VA), the committee drew up 70 proposals and published their report in December.
Changes include implementing a mandatory 38-hour work week that does not take into account the extra hours teachers often work when considering their pay. Teachers would also be paid according to the level of degree they hold.
'Not being heard'
After initially criticising the proposals when they were published, the three unions have now decided to take action. They dismiss them as "fantasies, ill-considered measures and recipes from the past" that will do nothing to make education "of high quality or attractive".
"Once again, staff, the real experts, are not being heard by policymakers. With our actions, we want to give our members and anyone who wants to join us the opportunity to make this voice louder," they said.
There will be demonstrations on five days in five cities in May: Antwerp on 7 May, Ostend on 8 May, Leuven on 13 May, Hasselt on 14 May and Ghent on 15 May. The actions will be accompanied by strike notices.
#FlandersNewsService | © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK
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