Unions Demand The Improvement Of Teachers ‘Working Conditions On World Teachers’ Day

Unions such as STES-i, ANPE, CSIF and FSIE demand the improvement of the working conditions of teachers on World Teachers’ Day, which is celebrated this Tuesday, October 5.

From STES-i, this year they dedicate this anniversary to “honoring the large number of victims that the pandemic has claimed among teachers around the world”, including Spain, where in addition, this union denounces that there has been “official silence”, when this group carried out an “exercise of effort, improvement and courage, paying a high price in the form of contagions – more than 25,000 teachers were positive for COVID in the nine months of the course – illnesses and deaths”, according to the labor union.

“It is time to thank the effort made and that the Ministry of Education and the Councils and Departments of Education of the different autonomies take that step in favor of education and its educators who, often use as a political claim, and that be translated, once and for all, into concrete facts “, asks STES-i.

These demands are: lower ratios; the reduction of the school hours to a maximum of 23 hours in Infant and Primary and 18 in Secondary and other courses; the recognition of all the professors who teach FP, including all its members in a single body with level A1; salary improvements that help offset the loss of purchasing power suffered between 2010 and 2018; and stability of all the teaching staff and continuity in the contracts, so that these cover, in all cases, the entire year (from September 1 to August 31).

“Teachers cannot continue to be overworked, undervalued and underpaid. For a better reconstruction of the world, teachers must be supported and empowered to lead the recovery of education. We will take this opportunity to ask governments to invest in education. teachers and that they work to improve their situation and their working conditions “, proclaims STES-i.

Also from ANPE they ask to address the professional situation of teachers and, this year also, they wanted to thank teachers for their “dedication and effort” in the face of the new challenges caused by Covid-19.

On the occasion of World Teachers’ Day, ANPE considers it necessary that, “once and for all”, policy makers address the future of the teaching profession, laying down legislative foundations that clearly regulate it, from initial training to retirement.

For this union, it “worries” how the incorporation into the system of access to the teaching function of the knowledge, skills and attitudes related to education for sustainable development and global citizenship, as well as the qualification of teaching staff in the goals of the 2030 Agenda, issues contemplated in the recent Education Law.

This adaptation challenge faces the added difficulty of the aging of the workforce: a third of Primary teachers are over 50 years old, a proportion that rises at Secondary levels, which will cause a “potential avalanche of retirements for the next decade that will require ample job offers that allow the generational change that the system needs. “

For this, ANPE urges “to promote teaching as an attractive and prestigious work alternative” for young people, through the design of a “motivating professional career” and the “establishment of remuneration appropriate to the academic demands of the position they hold. “, since the figure of the teacher is the” cornerstone of the educational system. “

Pact for education and law of the teaching profession
CSIF has pronounced along the same lines, which also considers the teacher to be the “cornerstone” of the educational system, as well as that teaching has become “quite a challenge.”

Thus, for CSIF, the role of teachers must be “prestigious”, starting with the recognition of “optimal working conditions”. “It is always a good time to recognize the teaching work, but this need has never been so clear as now. It is time to give the place they deserve to so many teachers who continue to alleviate with their dedication and professionalism the shortcomings and clumsiness of those who direct, “says the union, which also calls for a Pact for Education.

Among the demands of CSIF, it is worth highlighting that there be health personnel in educational centers through the figure of school nursing personnel and a greater endowment of material resources and, above all, personal resources based on the increase in workforce and the reduction of ratios, among others. .

Meanwhile, the Federation of Independent Teaching Unions (FSIE) calls for the enactment of a Law on the Teaching Profession that regulates the teaching profession for all teaching professionals, which establishes the parameters of quality initial training, appropriate to the real needs of teachers, and that reflects the importance of lifelong learning and professional careers.

According to this union, the new law would “dignify” the teaching profession and regain its authority and recognition for all teachers, regardless of the type of center in which they carry out their work.