All teachers and education support personnel have the right to organise and be part of a union that represents and defends their values and interests. However, around the world, education unions are facing serious attacks and operate in increasingly challenging and hostile environments. Revitalising unions, building their power by boosting membership and active participation and maximising impact is the way forward.
Corruption fears remain high as Romanian teachers joined mass demonstrations demanding the government withdraw three justice reform projects, which are aimed at stripping prosecutors of their legal power.
Romania: teachers among the voices demanding that the government respect Justice
Teachers in Germany and Spain are facilitating the integration of refugee children through the classroom, and now have clear demands for policymakers.
Europe: educators unite for refugee children
The wave of revelations of sexual harassment and abuse of women from all walks of life marks a tipping point in tackling gender-based violence, and that effort begins in classrooms around the world.
One story at a time, violence against women is thrust into the spotlight
Public sector primary and secondary education teachers embarked on a three-day strike to obtain better living and working conditions from the Togolese government.
Togo: education trade unions join forces to improve teachers' living and working conditions
Teaching is a ‘difficult’ job, according to a thousand educators at one of the largest teacher gatherings ever organised in Belgium.
Belgium: Unions shed light on increasingly difficult job of being a teacher
Teacher (or education) unions are organizations formed to protect and advance the collective interests of teachers and other education workers. What those collective interests entail and how they should be pursued have been and remain active matters for debate.
The future of education unionism
Education International will represent teachers and stress their unions’ active role in ensuring quality education for all at the 4th Global Conference on Child Labour.
Spotlight on role of teacher unions in the eradication of child labour
With more than 1,700 schools already closed due to damage from armed conflict, the country’s teachers have gone on strike, desperate to be paid after one year, only adding to the country’s education woes.
Yemen’s education crisis deepens as unpaid teachers continue to strike
“Education International has been one of the world's leading unions in the fight for the respect of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and intersex workers,” Education International's Executive Board member Daniel Lafrenière reminded at a top trade union event.
Trade unionists united to ensure LGBTI rights at the workplace
After meeting in Dakar, the Board of the Comité Syndical Francophone pour l’Education et la Formation committed to promoting quality public education accessible to all, as well as increase vibrant and respected teacher trade unionism.
Francophone education unions assemble to improve the teaching profession
For the first time in three years, Burkina Faso's education trade unions have called a strike in order to obtain better living and working conditions for teachers and help achieve quality education.
Burkina Faso: united education union front for a better teacher status
The Trade Unions Congress of Kenya has announced its support for lecturers in 31 Kenyan public universities who have given 21 days’ strike notice after the universities’ councils failed to increase their basic salary and housing allowance.
Kenya: Union support for university lecturers’ strike move
Asia-Pacific education union leaders reiterated their commitment to quality education for all, working towards countering for-profit education privatisation, increasing teacher professionalism and demanding respect for educators’ human and trade union rights.
Education International’s Asia-Pacific leaders gather to tackle regional challenges
I am a young teacher from New Jersey with over seven years in the classroom. This summer, I traveled to seven different cities to participate in ten different conferences. We had powerful conversations around racial justice in education, progressive movement-building, leadership development, and more. The most impactful experience was the...
Think Global, Act Local: Perspectives from EI Young Advocates' workshop
The French affiliates of Education International are mobilising on 10 October to defend civil servants’ purchasing power and working conditions as they press for improvements in the quality of public services.
France: Educators unite in defence of public service
As the contributions and significance of teachers are recognised, this year’s focus has turned toward the diminishing freedoms facing the profession and the empowerment needed to allow teachers to work effectively in a challenging world.
World Teachers’ Day brings professional freedom and empowerment into focus
Through its launch of a new resource aimed at immigrants, the Canadian Teachers’ federation is working to facilitate the integration of newcomers and their families in French-language schools.
Canadian Teachers’ Federation vows to support immigrant families in Francophone minority settings
With only modest advances made in the year since countries pledged education-related support to refugees at the 2016 UN General Assembly’s Leaders’ Summit, renewed calls for immediate action are being made.
Quality refugee education lagging a year after global commitments