Ei-iE

The EI Executive Board met in Berlin, Germany, from 27-29 March. Below is the list of the decisions taken by the Board:

EI sent a strong message to the Greek Minister of National Education and Religious Affairs on 4 April, condemning the use of violence by the police against teacher unionists and students during their demonstration on 8 March.

A few of the 300 teachers arrested during a demonstration on 14 March for better pay and working conditions have been released.

The three elected officers of the Ethiopian Teachers Association (ETA) detained since December 2006 have finally been released on 22 March. Tilahun Ayalew, Meqcha Mengistu and Antenech Getenet were detained and tortured by the police for over three months. They were freed from custody when they last appeared in court...

EI sent a message to the Prime Minister of Thailand on 30 March, expressing its concerns about the level of violence in the south of the country. According to the UN, over 2000 lives have been lost in the past 3 years, including those of 60 teachers.

Representatives from EI, the Southern African Teacher Organisation (SATO) and the Southern African Trade Union Co-ordinating Council (SATCC) are currently in Botswana to show solidarity with the President of the Botswana Teachers' Union (BTU), Japhta Radibe.

"Education is a public good, not a commodity," said Ulla Burchardt, Chairperson of the Committee on Education, Research and Technology Assessment of the German Bundestag, at a meeting organised by the Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft (GEW), one of EI’s German member organisations.

“Educators joining together for quality education and social justice:” This is the theme that will unite more than 1,500 teacher leaders from around the world who will come to Berlin 22-26 July 2007 for the 5th World Congress of Education International (EI).

This year marks the bicentennial of the end of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, yet slavery remains widespread, particularly among vulnerable girls. The shameful statistics must mobilise us to stop violence against the girl child.

The Global Unions launched the Zero Cancer campaign in Geneva, Switzerland on 23 March with a occupational cancer prevention guide for workers.

EI has written to the President of Guatemala on 21 March supporting the demands of its member organisation, the Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Educación de Guatemala (STEG).

This week, at its meeting in Geneva, the ILO Governing Body’s Committee on Sectoral and Technical Meetings (STM) approved the Report submitted by the Joint ILO-UNESCO Committee of Experts on the Application of the Recommendations concerning Teaching Personnel (CEART).

The Tsunami Student Tour has been a life-changing experience for the participants of the EI Tsunami Student Tour to Aceh, Indonesia, from 19-24 February 2007. Below is a summary of the feedback they gave EI after returning from the tour.

The 28th Executive Board Meeting will take place from 27-29 March in Berlin, Germany at the venue of the 5th World Congress. The meeting will mainly concentrate on the coming EI World Congress, which will be held from 22-27 July.

In Geneva, the Committee on Sectoral and Technical Meetings (STM) of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Governing Body approved on 19 March a new approach to activities that takes ILO's agenda out into the workplace.

The ILO Workers' Group and EI met the Iranian delegation to the ILO Governing Body in Geneva on 21 March on the current teacher crisis in Iran. This meeting is the result of EI's request for ILO intervention on 16 March.

Over 12 000 teachers from all over the country gathered in Warsaw on 21 March to protest against the government harassment of gay and lesbian teachers and teachers with left-wing sympathies.

EI wrote to the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on 16 March condemning the harsh repression and arrest of hundreds of teachers who were protesting on 14 March for better pay and working conditions.