Education International

Canada: Deficit is not an excuse for underfunding Aboriginal education, says former Prime Minister

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 14:21:02 +0200

Former Prime Minister Paul Martin has delivered a keynote address at the Canada Teachers’ Federation (CTF) Annual General Meeting held under the theme, “Teacher organisations: charting the course for democracy,” from 11-13 July in Halifa, Nova Scotia. http://dlvr.it/1rhK2B

Canada: Gap between teachers’ hopes and practice

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 19:58:33 +0200

External forces often change the way teachers teach, with just under half of teachers occasionally having opportunities to teach as they aspire to. That’s according to a 2012 joint research report from the Canadian Education Association (CEA) and the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF). http://dlvr.it/1rVGWn

International solidarity to defend the public university

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 19:43:17 +0200

In a joint statement, the members of EI, the Quebec Federation of University Professors of Canada (FQPPU) and the national trade union of higher education of France (SNESUP-FSU), undertook to pool their resources to defend public universities. http://dlvr.it/1rCv9R

USA: Idaho teachers targeted by planned reforms

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 13:21:32 +0200

EI condemns the latest message delivered by Idaho Schools Superintendent Tom Luna, alleging that the Idaho Education Association was lying about “Students Come First”. This provocative programme he wishes to implement aims to substitute online learning for live teaching, implement merit pay and put an end to collective bargaining. The Idaho Education Association is a member of the National Education Association (NEA), one of EI’s national affiliates. http://dlvr.it/1qsCjp

Australia: Campaign for new education funding model

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 13:21:32 +0200

The Australian Education Union (AEU) has launched a campaign, I give a Gonski, to encourage the Government to legislate for a new funding model based on the findings of the Gonski Review of Federal Schools funding. http://dlvr.it/1qsCls

Brazil set to spend 10% of GDP on public education

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 16:08:01 +0200

On 26 June, Brazil’s National Congress made history by setting the percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to be spent on public education at 10 per cent. After months of struggle, EI’s affiliate, Confederação Nacional dos Trabalhadores em Educação (CNTE), has achieved one of its most important objectives of recent years. http://dlvr.it/1qdBNF

Netherlands: heavy cuts in school staff

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 13:04:01 +0200

The Algemene Onderwijsbond(AOb), one of EI’s national affiliates, has condemned the drastic cut in full-time positions in Dutch schools. The 2011-2012 school year witnessed a reduction of 9,000 full-time positions in Dutch schools as compared to the previous school year. This happened despite the decrease in education jobs being considerably faster than the decline in student numbers, as confirmed by official figures from the Dutch Ministry of Education. http://dlvr.it/1qb0zh

Lebanon: teachers demand first salary increase in 10 years

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 12:16:18 +0200

EI has expressed its support for a salary increase demanded by the Teachers’ Coordination Committee in Lebanon. After an agreement was passed on an improved salary scale for workers in the private sector in February, the Committee carried out strike and protest actions to force the government to also enter into negotiations with public sector workers. http://dlvr.it/1pvvCS

Mali: Scaling up of Quality Educators programme

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 12:16:17 +0200

A Quality Educators for All (Quality-Ed) Inception workshop was held in The Hague, Netherlands, from 25-27 July. EI and its Malian affiliate, the Syndicat National de l’Education et de la culture UNTM (SNEC-UNTM), joined other project partners at the meeting. Through the Quality-Ed Project, 2,555 community teachers, providing education to around 86,700 primary students in the Ségou region, a rural area, will receive in-service training to upgrade their skills. http://dlvr.it/1pvv9b

EI Regional Committee condemns dismissal of Paraguay's President

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 11:46:32 +0200

In a statement released on 22 June, the EI Regional Committee for Latin America called on EI affiliates to stand in solidarity with the democratically elected government in Paraguay and its people and to express their strong condemnation of the unlawful deposition of Paraguay´s President. http://dlvr.it/1pPv42

Turkey: Help free jailed trade unionists now

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 20:37:33 +0200

EI, together with other Global Unions such as ITUC, ITF and PSI, are launching an online campaign in partnership with LabourStart to condemn governmental anti-union harassment tactics in Turkey. They invite their affiliates, affiliates’ members and concerned citizens to take action now on LabourStart and send urgently protest messages to the government of Turkey. http://dlvr.it/1pGbkt

European education unions join Regulate Global Finance Now!

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 17:35:17 +0200

The EI European region, the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE), has joined the large Regulate Global Finance Now! campaign. This campaign comprises five sub-campaigns: “A financial transaction tax, now!”, “Credit Rating Agencies”, “Stop food speculation! Now!”, “Managing future crises”, and “Bonus watch!” http://dlvr.it/1pDbgj

Quebec teachers' union elects new president

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 11:17:17 +0200

For the first time in its history, the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ), EI’s largest member union in Quebec, elected a nurse, Ms Louise Chabot, as its President. Ms. Chabot succeeds Mr Rejean Parent, who led the organisation since 2003. http://dlvr.it/1ntwST

Cambodia: National Confederation Union denied recognition

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 16:40:01 +0200

The Cambodian Independent Teachers’ Association (CITA), one of EI’s national affiliate, has condemned the fact that the Cambodian Confederation of Unions (CCU) has again been denied formal government recognition as a trade union confederation. Made up of seven unions and associations, the CCU represents more than 90,000 workers nationwide. http://dlvr.it/1nJvy2

EI Unions from Southern Africa condemn actions of Swaziland government against strikers

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 19:29:01 +0200

Representatives of 19 EI member organisations from Southern Africa, meeting in Johannesburg, condemned in the strongest terms the actions of the Swaziland Government in brutally attacking strikers and imprisoning many of them. http://dlvr.it/1n5phN

Education union leader debunks anti-teacher activist’s assertions

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 13:24:32 +0200

EI welcomes a recent BBC show featuring the Association of Teachers and Lecturers’ (ATL) General Secretary Mary Bousted and Michelle Rhee, a former chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools. It allowed the UK’s top education trade unionist to reassert what quality teachers and teacher assessment mean. http://dlvr.it/1n1drx

Swaziland: Educators continue pay strike

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 19:09:54 +0200

The Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) has decided to contravene a court decision and instead go on an open-ended strike over demands for a 4.5 per cent salary increase. The SNAT, an EI affiliate, is extending a two-day action held on 13-14 June, in which over 6,000 teachers participated. http://dlvr.it/1mqsdp

US Supreme Court issues ruling on Arizona’s anti-immigrant law

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 12:41:45 +0200

Education unions in the United States (US) have cautiously welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision on 25 June to block elements of Arizona’s anti-immigration law.\n\n http://dlvr.it/1mm1MZ

UK: Coalition Government must raise teachers’ training quality and work conditions

Tue, 26 Jun 2012 18:06:33 +0200

EI’s national affiliates in the UK, the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), have called on the Government to provide teachers with quality training and decent working conditions. http://dlvr.it/1mbH5J

Turkey: EI condemns latest trade union leaders’ arrests

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 17:52:02 +0200

Eğitim Sen, its national affiliate, has informed EI that the union head office in Ankara and the Confederation of Public Employees (KESK)’s offices have been raided by the police early morning on 25 June. Nearly 70 people were taken into custody and had their houses searched by the police, including three Eğitim Sen Executive Board members: Mehmet Bozgeyik, General Secretary, Sakine Esen Yilmaz, Women’s Secretary and Abdullah Karahan, Secretary for Financial Affairs. http://dlvr.it/1mKqGp