Ei-iE

Two unions in the UK, representing nine out of 10 teachers, have reaffirmed their commitment to a jointly coordinated campaign, Protect Teachers and Defend Education. This action by the UK’s two largest teachers’ unions, the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT),...

Many schools and a number of teachers were affected by Typhoon Haiyan on 8 November, according to EI affiliates in the Philippines. Amongst the devastating and deadly consequences of the typhoon is the loss of contact with two National Council members of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), an EI...

In his statement at the 37th General Conference of UNESCO, held in Paris, France, EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen has called for a renewed commitment for universal free quality education to be at the centre of the new global development agenda.

This week, a mortar bomb struck an elementary school in the neighbourhood of Al-Zahira in southern Damascus, Syria, causing injuries among its students.

The brochure outlines the Strasbourg Organisation’s position as Europe’s leading human rights institution.

Other related news on EU issues

On 6 November 2013, ALTER-EU, AK EUROPA and ÖGB Europabüro released a report showing that still mostly the big business dominate the advisory groups of the European Commission despite the promise given over a year ago to reform the groups.

On 24- 25 October, the European Council concluded that the European Structural Investment Funds (ESF) for 2014 -2020 should be used in part for ICT education and training. EU Heads of State and Government decided that Europe must boost digital, data-driven innovation as part of its growth strategy.

The ICT&ESL Final Conference ‘Teacher Trade Unions Preventing Early School Leaving through the Use of Information and Communication Technology in Education’,will be held in Bratislava on 28-29 November 2013.

The Final conference of the ETUCE project: “The development of the teaching profession in times of the economic crisis as a key task for social partners in education. Finding joint strategies to tighten the links between education and the labour market.” is to be held in Berlin on 13-14 November...

On Wednesday, 6th November 2013, more than 10,000 Romanian teachers affiliated with FSLE (ETUCE MO) marched through Bucharest to demand better wages and working conditions and an end to political interference in education. Teachers whistled, held banners and yelled: “Solidarity!”, “Without education, any nation would die!”.

Ten thousand teachers affiliated to the Fédération des syndicats libres de l’enseignement (FSLE), one of EI’s national affiliates, marched through Bucharest on 6 November. They were demanding better wages and working conditions and an end to political interference in education.

The President OLME, one of EI’s Greek affiliates, Kotsifakis Themistoklis, met the Executive Board of the Argentinian teachers’ union CTERA in October. The delegation was led by Stella Maldonado, CTERA’s General Secretary and a member of EI’s Executive Board.

The National Autonomous Union of Secondary School Teachers (SNAES), a member of the Federation of Education and Research Unions (FESER) affiliated to EI, called attention to the need for quality teachers.

EI has branded as a “bad decision” Japan’s move to introduce an income cap for its tuition-free programme for public high schools during the 2014 fiscal year. This “will destroy an education policy that has taken root after three years and is supported by parents and educators,” said EI’s Chief...

EI and its national affiliates, the Nepal National Teachers' Association (NNTA), the Nepal Teachers' Association (NTA), and the Sansthagat Vidyalaya Schickshak Union Nepal (ISTU), co-organised a joint workshop on trade union rights and gender issues in trade unions, education and society in Kathmandu, Nepal, from 22-24 October. Discussions were held...

EI’s Latin American Regional Office has taken steps to consolidate trade union work in early childhood education. A meeting of member organisations was convened to analyse, plan and unify trade union action in this field in Santiago, Chile, on 28 and 29 October 2013.

The University and College Union (UCU), one of EI’s national affiliates in the UK, has planned a coordinated strike action on 31 October with UNITE and UNISON to demand fair pay in higher education. Unions are disappointed that employers refused talks to try and avert a walkout, but said they...