Ei-iE

European Union economic agreements, the economic and financial crisis, and their impact on education were the focus for roughly 50 European education unionists as they gathered in Brussels to tackle issues across the continent.

Investment protection was high on the agenda during meetings 13-14 October as the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE) adopted a statement on investment protection in European Union (EU) agreements. The ETUCE represents the European region of Education International (EI). It will held its regional Special Conference in Vienna, Austria, on 26-27 November.

In the statement, the ETUCE expressed its deep concern “about new rules for investment protection being proposed by the European Commission for future EU investment agreements.” The ETUCE went on to state that it is “particularly worried about the aim of including the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism into EU free trade agreements”.

Education must remain outside TTIP

The ISDS mechanism is part of the negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and the US. ETUCE has reiterated, particularly during the Unite for Quality Education campaign’s culmination event in Brussels on 22 Sept., that education services must be keep out of TTIP’s remit.

The ETUCE also believes that the flawed ISDS mechanism contradicts and limits the right to regulate. In addition, investor-state rules do not ensure an equal level of protection for foreign and domestic investors.

“Alternatives to the ISDS mechanism already exist,” said ETUCE Programme Officer Louise Høj Larsen. “One alternative is the state-to-state dispute settlement mechanisms, as used in World Trade Organisation negotiations, guaranteeing the critical role of governments in determining and protecting the public interest.”

ETUCE Action Plan on European Economic Governance

The ETUCE Coordinator for Education and Training Policy, Agnes Roman, also reported on the priorities of the Italian, Latvian, and Luxembourg Presidencies in education and training from July 2014 to Dec. 2015.

Among the presidencies’ objectives are: to fully overcome the economic and financial crisis and to boost the EU’s growth; and to create jobs and to fight poverty and exclusion through the reinforcement of mobility, social dialogue, quality job creation, reforms of the labour market, investments in education and vocational training to tackle youth unemployment.

In particular, the ETUCE is following up on policy debates that impact education and training in the context of the Europe 2020 Strategy, Roman said.

In addition, she highlighted the adoption of the ETUCE Action Plan on European economic governance on 11 Sept. by the ETUCE Bureau. This is to ensure a greater ETUCE involvement in the process of the European economic governance in the context of the European Semester, i.e. the yearly cycle of economic policy coordination in the European Commission, set up in 2010.

“The Bureau considers the European Semester process important, in particular the Country Specific Recommendations, as it has major influence on national reforms and programmes on education and training,” said Roman. “In order to increase trade unions’ impact and visibility in the European Semester process, the Bureau agreed that there is a need to establish/improve the coordination and information flow among the various levels, in particular through raising awareness, national feedback, and cooperation on national actions.”

Practical Guidelines on Gender Equality

Internationally, gender equality in education – and society at large – has been hit by the economic and financial crisis. This was underlined by an ETUCE-led survey among affiliates, said Susan Flocken, ETUCE Coordinator for Internal Policy coordination, Occupational Health and Safety.

She presented the ETUCE Practical Guidelines for teacher unions for the further implementation and reinforcement of teacher union actions on gender equality in times of austerity, which were later adopted by the ETUCE Committee. These guidelines build on activities, such as the teacher union online survey and seminar, in which ETUCE member organisations actively contributed. In the main, they inform teacher unions in Europe and their affiliated teachers and education employees how to implement and reinforce union actions on gender equality in times of economic recession.

“Continuous public investment in education is needed at all levels to ensure high quality education, including reconciliation of work and family life, as prerequisites for gender equality in education institutions, the teaching profession and teacher unions,” Flocken said.

Glass ceiling

The online survey helped the ETUCE and its member organisations to compare the data collected in 2009 to 2014 and to observe (crisis-related) developments in teacher unions. It shows that women continue to be underrepresented in all positions of leadership in ETUCE member organisations, especially with regards to the highest decision-making bodies. The results also showed that the majority of teacher unions believe that the economic crisis and austerity measures have resulted in gender effects.

During the five-year period, the percentage of women decreased among the delegates to the highest decision-making bodies of ETUCE member organisations, even though the percentage of women among union members generally increased. However, in executive and management committees, women are better represented in 2014, which reflects unions’ more active role in the field of gender equality. In fact, the majority of equality staff has been and still is female.