Ei-iE

At its 39th meeting held on 30 November-1 December, EI Executive Board adopted new policies related to the crisis and its impact on unions worldwide. These policies are partly represented by resolutions on ‘the Strengthening of International Trade Unionism within the Context of Globalisation,’ and ‘EI Structures.’

The 8th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 15-17 December. EI joined the international trade union movement in warning of growing social unrest, rising inequality, and increased hardship if trade liberalisation continues in its current form.

EI has launched a petition in association with LabourStart to condemn the prison sentences imposed on 25 Turkish trade unionists, members of both EI affiliate Egitim Sen and the Confederation of Public Employees’ Unions (KESK).

On 14 December, France’s Mutuelle Générale de l’Education Nationale (MGEN), a joint founder organisation of the Education and Solidarity Network along with EI, organised a European and international day on the theme of ‘Social Protection: Citizens’ Rights and Duties’.

A common union front in education, to which most EI French affiliates joined, has called for a strike on 15 December. Educators protest against a governmental plan aiming at having teachers’ evaluation and career advancement decided solely by school leaders.

The appeal of Bahrain Teacher Association (BTA) leaders, Jalila al-Salman and Mahdi Abu Dheeb, has been postponed to 19 February, in order to be able to include the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) report. This postponement will effectively prolong the detention of Mahdi Abu Dheeb, the...

The EI Executive Board adopted a proposed Congress Resolution on Respect for Diversity at its 39th meeting, held 30 November-1st December 2011 in Brussels, Belgium.The resolution recognises “integrating respect for diversity in all its forms and the promotion of non-discrimination in education, in education unions and in societies as an...

Fiji’s military regime has refused to allow an Australian and New Zealand trade union delegation to enter the country on 13 December. Representatives of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) were denied permission to enter the country on arrival at...

At its 39th meeting on 1st December, the EI Executive Board selected the Ottawa Convention Centre, in the Canadian capital, as the location for the 7th EI World Congress. The next Congress will be held in July 2015. Traditionally, each EI Congress is held in a different region. For 2015...

As mandated by the 2011 World Congress held in Cape Town, South Africa, the EI Executive Board, at its 39th meeting held in Brussels, Belgium, from 30 November-1 December, considered the resolutions submitted for Congress but not dealt with at Congress due to insufficient time, and adopted a proposed Congress...

The United Nations Climate Change Conference brought together representatives of the world's governments, international organizations and civil society in Durban, South Africa, from 28 November-11 December. It aimed at reaching an international agreement for a truly global emission reduction regime.

Education International (EI) has launched a new Urgent Action Appeal on Bahrain, calling on its member organisations to contact their national government as well as the Bahraini diplomatic representations in their country to urge the Bahraini authorities to review the charges and convictions and commute sentences of all teachers, teacher...

The Advisory Committee on Aboriginal Education of the Canadian Teachers Federation (CTF), one of EI’s national affiliates, has endorsed the Initiative of Ashoka Changemakers, a global online community, aiming at sharing ideas or projects about supporting First Nations, Métis and Inuit learners.

Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft (GEW), one of Education International's affiliates in Germany, has called for more concerted efforts to ensure stronger equal opportunities in education throughout the diverse German school system.

The EI Latin America Women’s Network met in Bogota, Colombia, on 2-3 December to discuss and strengthen the defense of public education as a basic human right.

Convening in Brussels for the first time after the World Congress, the newly elected EI Executive Board voiced concerns about the ongoing onslaught on quality public education in the wake of the economic crisis and vowed to take measures to counter this worldwide tendency.

Representatives of Global Unions (GUFs), including EI, are meeting in Geneva this week to put pressure on governments attending the 6th Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) to enact and implement a better governance system for migration and fair labour migration policies.

The EI Executive Board, meeting in Brussels this week, learned with great regret that 25 Turkish trade unionists, members of EGITIM Sen-KESK, which includes the EI affiliate in Turkey, had prison sentences imposed by the Turkish courts for engaging in what would be regarded elsewhere as legitimate trade union activities.