Ei-iE

In a recently published report, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has called on governments to do more to help students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds to succeed in school.

EI and ETUCE strongly condemn the police raid against union members of the Confederation of Public Employees’ Unions (KESK) on 13 February in Ankara. Fifteen women union leaders were dragged from their bed and taken into custody. The union offices and personal computers were also searched.

One of EI’s national affiliates, the Fédération Camerounaise des Syndicats de l'Education(FECASE), has joined other education unions supported by the Public Sector Union Confederation (CSP) calling for a strike in the basic and secondary education sectors on 14-17 February. Trade Unionists condemn the government’s attitude, saying it is not adhering...

Mahdi Abu Dheeb, the imprisoned president of Bahrain's Teachers’ Association, has begun a hunger strike to protest about his unfair detention and continued ill-treatment in prison.

A 23-year-old Chilean student leader has been named as ‘Person of the Year 2011’ by a British newspaper. Camila Vallejo received the accolade from The Guardian, ahead of leading personalities, including German chancellor Angela Merkel. Vallejo, ex-President of the University of Chile’s Student Federation (FECH), secured 78 per cent of...

The EI Africa Regional Committee, held in Accra, Ghana, from 8-11 February, began with a one-day orientation seminar for new Committee members elected in Congo Brazzaville in December 2010. It focused on the negative impact of the economic crisis in Africa, which is undermining quality education in the region.

Codes of professional ethics are in the interest of students, teachers, other stakeholders in education and the teaching profession as a whole, to achieve quality education for all. That’s what delegates heard at two recent EI Asia-Pacific Region workshops on promoting Codes of Professional Ethics for the teaching profession.

EI and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) have condemned the latest developments in the negotiation between the national government and the Troika (European Commission, European Central Bank [ECB], and International Monetary Fund [IMF]) that would smash minimum wages, collective agreements and rights in Greece.

According to the US Department of Education and the National Center for Education Statistics, the average age of public school buildings in the United States is 42 years, with almost half being built between 1950 and 1969. Many of these buildings have fallen into a state of dilapidation, and teachers...

EI’s affiliate in Ecuador, Unión Nacional de Educadores (UNE), has called for nationwide protests to demand the implementation of an educational law approved in 2010 and never applied.

EI welcomes the declaration issued by its affiliates, the Verband Bildung und Erziehung (VBE) from Germany, the Gewerkschaft Öffentlicher Dienst (GÖD) from Austria, and Dachverband Schweizer Lehrerinnen und Lehrer (LCH) from Switzerland. This joint declaration, called the “Zurich Declaration,” deplores that national authorities are planning or already implementing obligatory school...

Following the devastating earthquake in Eastern Turkey last November, EI and its member affiliates provided support to help Turkish union Egitim Sen and its members in the affected region. The earthquake killed 600, amongst them 75 teachers. Egitim Sen is leading the efforts to assist earthquake victims locally, helped by...

EI has launched a campaign to urge the Bahraini authorities to immediately release on bail Mahdi 'Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb, President of the Bahraini Teachers Association (BTA), given his deteriorating health condition. This campaign is organised in partnership with LabourStart, an online news service aiming to serve the international trade...

During her visit to Finland, from 25-28 January, EI President Susan Hopgood addressed around 14,000 teachers at the international seminar, “Finland – World’s Most Skilled Nation 2020?” organised by one of EI’s national affiliates, the Opetusalan Ammattijärjestö (OAJ). She welcomed the fact that Finland is acknowledged around the world for...

One of EI’s affiliates in Germany, the Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft (GEW), together with unions inside the German Trade Union Federation (DGB), has taken a strong stance on the crisis in Europe, calling for a clear signal for a change of policy.

Nearly 22,000 Dutch secondary school teachers joined in a successful strike called by one of EI’s national affiliates, the Algemene Onderwijsbond (AOb), on 26 January. This strike opposed the latest government Bill imposing new additional classroom hours for students.

In joining the WTO, Russia had to modify nearly 300 pieces of legislation to conform with international trade rules, and agreed to lower tariffs across a number of industrial sectors and to reduce agricultural subsidies on dairy products and cereals.

A public spate broke out between WTO Director General Pascal Lamy and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Olivier de Schutter, during the 8th WTO Ministerial Conference in December.