Ei-iE

On 7 March, American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten was placed in handcuffs and arrested along with 18 other activists during a protest against the closure of 29 public schools in Philadelphia which, according to Mayor Nutter and the School Reform Commission, are poorly performing schools.

The Gambia Teachers’ Union (GTU) celebrated its 76th anniversary on 16 February.The theme of the celebration was “Enhanced Synergy: an Inevitable Necessity for our Unity”.

The Syndicat National des Agents de la Formation et de l’Education du Niger(SYNAFEN), one of EI’s national affiliates, has called on the Government to respect the country’s Constitution and urged that dialogue and not force be used to resolve conflict. It made its demands in a Statement published after it...

The Syndicat national de l'enseignement-Fédération démocratique du travail (SNE-FDT) of Morocco, held its 10th Congress from 22-24 February in Marrakech. The congress theme was “All in defence of public education, the teaching profession, trade union rights and democratic freedoms”.

EI strongly condemns the police raids that have targeted members and leaders of the public sector confederation, KESK, early in the morning on Tuesday, 19 February.

The National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP), one of EI’s national affiliates, has broadly welcomed the government’s announcement of additional insurance being offered to schoolchildren. However, it also called on the Government to address school-bus facilities.

In a well-received speech delivered at the World Bank, EI Vice-President Dennis van Roekel from the National Education Association/USA has raised some important issues about the Bank’s approach to education sector reform, how that approach impacts on teachers, misses important opportunities for educational improvement and equity ... and where the...

The Syndicat national unitaire des instituteurs professeurs des écoles et PEGC - a national school teachers’ trade union (SNUipp-FSU), one of EI's national affiliates, announced that almost six teachers in 10 (58 per cent) went on strike on 12 February to demand a successful reform of school timetables for all...

EI strongly condemns the killing of Chokri Belaïd, a secular Tunisian political leader. In December 2012, the headquarters of the Union Générale Tunisienne du Travail (UGTT) union federation were attacked, and there were a series of violent repressions of demonstrations in Tunis and across the country.

On 28 January, pupils at a secondary school in Aere Mbar, a small village in southern Mauritania, ransacked the school, slightly injuring one of their teachers. They broke and burnt doors, tables and windows. This furious outburst was triggered by severe overcrowding in one of their classes: 105 pupils.

In December 1955, in Montgomery, USA, a black seamstress refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger, even though this was required by regulations. Her name was Rosa Parks, and she has been called ‘the mother of the freedom movement’. February 4 is the 100th...

The Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft (GEW) and Verband Bildung und Erziehung(VBE), two of EI’s national affiliates in Germany, have reacted strongly to research showing that teachers, as well as construction workers, are more stressed than other professionals. The study, conducted by the German trade union confederation, DGB, was released on...

After another school shooting in Taft, California, EI’s national affiliates, the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), have expressed their deep shock and reiterated the urgent need to prevent future tragedies.

The Asociación Nacional de Educadores (ANDE), an EI affiliate, has received authorisation to change its legal status from “association” to “trade union” by a bill approved by the Costa Rica Parliament. This initiative will coincide with the organisation’s 70th anniversary.

I’ll be brief here. Let’s just note that the heroic teachers who died while courageously trying to protect their kids at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, and the others who survived but stayed to protect the kids, were all part of a school system where the employees...

The Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF), one of EI’s national affiliates, has heavily criticised the Harper Conservative government for pushing Bill C-377 through the House of Commons without a fair debate and without hearing the voices of those affected by the legislation. They describe the bill as mean-spirited, biased and wasteful...

Jalila Khamis Koko is a teacher from the Sudan, who has been charged on five criminal counts and faces the death penalty; she has been detained for more than nine months, with no charges brought against her until now.

EI affiliates in the US, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA), have expressed their deep condolences to families, educators and the whole community of Newtown, Connecticut, after a shooting rampage at a school left 26 people dead, including 20 students, on Friday.