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EI affiliate member, the Yemeni Teachers’ Syndicate (YTS) has denounced the serious escalation in violence against teacher trade unionists in the country as protests grow against the 32-year rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Fifty trade union organisations and NGOs’ representatives from all over Europe, will come together on 6 June in Brussels, Belgium, deploring that Georgia is rapidly becoming the Europe’s black sheep concerning workers’ rights.

EI has condemned the brutal takeover of the Teachers’ Association in the United Arab Emirates, a prominent civil society organisation calling for greater democracy in the country.

The UK Trades Union Congress (TUC) has supported the lunchtime Vigil organised by Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA) outside the Zimbabwe Embassy in London, UK.

EI’s Mauritanian affiliate Syndicat National de l’Enseignement Secondaire (SNES) has joined forces with Syndicat Indépendant des Professeurs de l'Enseignement Secondaire (SIPES) to call for a three-day strike from 8-10 May in order to bring the Government of Mauritania to the negotiation table.

EI has condemned the violent dispersion of peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations in Swaziland by the riot police and army.

EI and eight other human and labour rights organisations have expressed dismay at parliamentary proceedings in Iran intending to pass a law wiping out an independent civil society in the country.

The Yemen Teachers Syndicate asserts that at least three teachers have been killed during the past two weeks of unrest. "We know of three teachers that were shot during the recent protests," says Yehya Alinai, spokesperson for the Syndicate.

Education International (EI) is deeply concerned that workers and their trade union representatives in Bahrain are facing a wave of coercive violence and massive dismissals, in apparent reprisal for their participation in legitimate strikes and protest actions for democratic change.

Teacher unionists in Morocco have staged a two-day nationwide strike after recent demonstrations for better benefits ended in violence.

French teacher unions have issued a joint statement following on the recent district elections in France, which have seen a growth in support for the far right party, the National Front, asserting that “educators oppose the policies of the extreme right.“

Teachers from around the world have condemned reports from Harare which confirm that Zimbabwe’s teachers have been experiencing increased political threats and serious violent attacks since November 2010.

On 17 December 2010, a young vegetable seller named Mohamed Bouazizi burned himself alive in protest at police harassment in a small poverty-stricken town in Tunisia. Within a month the regime of President Ben Ali had fallen, sending shock waves across the entire Arab region.

While teacher unions are determined to continue to voice demands for more freedom and rights in the region, EI keeps receiving worrying reports about attacks against teachers and unionists.

Mr. Maina Kiai, chairman of the Kenya National Human Rights Commission (KNHRC), has been appointed by the Human Rights Council as Special UN Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association for a period of three years.

A New Year’s pledge from hardline Republican Governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, to remove teachers’ collective bargaining rights, as well as their health benefits and pension entitlements, has brought thousands of pro-union demonstrators on to the streets in all 50 U.S. states in solidarity with the Wisconsin unions.

While teacher unions are determined to continue to voice demands for more freedom and rights in the region, EI keep receiving worrying reports about attacks against teachers and unionists.