Ei-iE

Eminent academic Diane Ravitch has delivered a stinging rebuke of Wisconsin's Governor, Scott Walker, and his efforts to reduce pay of teachers and public sector workers, while restricting their collective bargaining and union rights.

EI affiliates in New Zealand are bringing urgent relief to teachers and students in communities that were badly affected by a devastating earthquake, measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale, which struck the region around Christchurch on 22 February.

The World Bank has expressed its concerns about rising food prices and the subsequent impact on those in the poorest countries.

Trade union women are giving workers a voice to share their experiences on a joint ITUC-PSI-EI blog dedicated to the United Nations’ 55th session of the Commission on the Status of Women.

EI’s General Secretary, Fred van Leeuwen, has told activists at the GCE General Assembly that “resources for investment in education, for the future of our children and young people are there. It takes political will to make them available!”

EI has expressed its dismay at the failure of G20 finance ministers to focus on the global employment crisis at their meeting this week.

EI has worked with the Education Development Center and World Health Organisation to present their latest EFAIDS resource: ‘Healthy Action: An activity book for teachers and learners’.

EI is supporting teachers in the Central African Republic (CAR) who are struggling to bring quality education to their students despite decades of political violence.

Georgia’s EI affiliate, the Educators and Scientists Free Trade Union (ESFTUG), has responded to proposals for a new teachers’ certification process by calling on the Georgian Ministry of Education to engage with consultation.

Education International, in partnership with other Global Unions, is bringing the expertise of teachers to the 55th UN Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) in New York, USA.

Teachers around the globe are deeply concerned about efforts to strip educators and other public employees of fundamental trade union rights.

Education International, working together with other Global Unions, is ready to bring and share their expertise at the UN Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW).

EI and its affiliates have participated in workshops on early childhood education and child labour in western Africa at the World Social Forum which has been held in Dakar, Senegal.

EI is set to join other global union federations and civil society organisations to organise a global day of action in support of the Financial Transactions Tax (FTT) on 17 February, to coincide with the meeting of G20 finance ministers in Paris.

The Colombian teacher and trade unionist, Carlos Alberto Ayala, was shot dead on 5 February. The gunmen who murdered him had been laying in wait for him as he returned to his home in Puerto Asís.

EI General Secretary, Fred van Leeuwen, has paid a courtesy visit to the Secretary of Education of the United States of America, Arne Duncan, in Washington DC.

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is encouraging everybody to wear a pink heart on 14 February, Valentine’s Day, as a symbol of love for quality education and public services.

Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down as the President of Egypt. In an announcement on state TV, Vice-President Omar Suleiman said Mr Mubarak has handed power to the military.