Ei-iE

As the COVID-19 pandemic became global, education unions showed solidarity with a dedicated COVID Response Fund to support member organisations during school closures and where teachers were hit by the health crisis.

Through the use of Education International’s COVID-19 solidarity fund, its two affiliates in Mauritania have been able to conduct a series of joint school visits to meet with teachers. The initiative has helped boost the unions’ image and membership levels.

Rwandan education workers’ union SYPERWA organised a tour to meet teachers from private schools and help them solve the problems encountered. Thanks to Education International’s COVID-19 solidarity fund, the union has been able to map the issues for teachers affected by COVID-19, provide legal assistance to teachers suspended as a...

Throughout the crisis, the Chad Teachers Union (SET, Syndicat des Enseignants du Tchad) has focused on listening to and supporting teachers. To this aim, the union carried out a large-scale survey to better understand the impact of the pandemic on teachers and to assess the effectiveness of distance learning.

With the help of the of Education International’s COVID-19 Solidarity Fund, the national unions that are members of Education International affiliate structure in Niger (IESNI) have collaborated in the organisation of an Inclusive Education Policy Forum, a skill development workshop for twenty-five female teachers, and the organisation of an awareness-raising...

Haitian affiliates have received support from Education International’s COVID-19 Solidarity Fund to set up training courses for teachers to learn about distance teaching.

The Syndicat libre des travailleurs de l'enseignement du Burundi (STEB), thanks to financial support from Education International’s COVID-19 Solidarity Fund, was able to run an important awareness-raising campaign on taking protective measures against COVID-19 and on unionisation in schools, and to organise a conference to take stock of the situation...

The General Union of Palestinian Teachers (GUPT) has reached a landmark agreement on salaries with the national Ministry of Education which has officially adopted the union’s e-learning model.

Education International affiliates in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have embarked on a project to develop a guide on COVID-19 intended for teachers and to organise workshops on how to use it. The project has also raised awareness among teachers on the importance of unionisation.

From the very beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, Education International called on global education union solidarity to help member organisations respond to the sanitary crisis and emerge stronger from it in terms of mobilising, organising and capacity-building.

A teacher union operating in the private sector has decided to take a series of actions to ensure decent working and living conditions for teachers and also to strengthen its capacities and ensure that teachers’ voices are really heard by the public authorities.

With the help of Education International’s COVID-19 solidarity fund, the Fédération chrétienne des enseignants et employés de l’Éducation (FEKRIMPAMA) has been able to get out to meet Madagascar’s teachers. The pandemic has abruptly reduced their quality of life and drawn attention to the lack of social and health security for...

In Nepal, the Sansthagat Vidyalaya Schickshak Union Nepal (ISTU) has issued demands to the government, highlighting how the COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to new challenges for teachers and education staff in the private sector, and how to respond to them.

Two unions from Benin affiliated to Education International have decided to join forces to raise awareness among their members on prevention and protection against COVID-19 and on inclusive education and building the role of union leadership within the context of the pandemic in public sector nursery and primary schools. For...

In Nepal, an education union has highlighted how the COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to new challenges. These include non-payment of teacher salaries by some private school employers, the psychological impact of the lockdown on students, and the challenges of online teaching.

Education International has launched a COVID-19 Solidarity Fund to strengthen education trade unions following the COVID-19 pandemic. The solidarity of many member organisations has already provided contributions, and requests to provide support for union activities have been received from other affiliated unions.