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.
Leaders of teachers’ organisations in the Arab region are outraged by the recent verdict of a Bahraini appeal court in which it sentenced the President of the Bahraini Teachers Association (BTA), Mahdi Abu Deeb, to 5 years imprisonment for taking part in national demonstrations in 2011. The Vice President of...
Arab Union Leaders condemn human and trade union rights abuses
"We must make every possible effort to provide support to the Syrian children and teachers in the refugee camps in Jordan," said EI General Secretary, Fred van Leeuwen and ITUC General Secretary, Sharan Burrow, who visited the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Mafraq on 28 October. They met with refugees and...
Jordan: Refugees need teachers and textbooks
At its meeting in Brussels from 16-18 October, the Executive Board of Education International, which represents 30 million teachers and other educators worldwide, condemned, in the strongest possible terms, the shooting by the Taliban of the fourteen year old Pakistani girl, Malala Yousafzai, because of her efforts to promote girls...
EI Executive Board condemns the attempted assassination of Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai, a 14-year old school girl and a campaigner for girls’ right to education was attacked on October 9 on her way home from school in Mingora, north-western Pakistan. Two gun men boarded a bus full of school girls, asked for Malala by name, shot her in the head...
EI strongly condemns attack on school girls
World Teachers’ Day is an opportunity to appreciate the tireless dedication and contribution of teachers to quality education. Unfortunately, in Colombia, teachers live in constant fear of being killed or maimed.
Honouring the courage of persecuted teacher unionists in Colombia
Representatives of the European trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE), Education International’s European region, are part of an international trade union delegation, together with representatives of the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EFPSU), the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), present in Ankara...
Turkey: International trade unions support Turkish workers’ rights
Abdullah Krarahan was interviewed while participating in a Turkish trade union delegation in Brussels on 19 September.
Interview with Abdullah Karahan, Egitim Sen Finance Secretary
At the occasion of World Teachers’ Day (WTD), celebrated annually on 5 October, EI has issued a statement of solidarity with teachers in Bahrain and their trade union, the Bahrain Teacher Association (BTA).
Bahrain: Solidarity with teachers on WTD
EI has sent a protest letter to the Kenyan Head of Public Service, Francis Kimemia, urging the Government to enter into meaningful negotiations with EI national affiliates on teacher wages and allowances.
Kenya: Government must meet educators’ legitimate demands for decent wages
In view of the final appeals hearing in the cases of Bahraini teacher unionists Mahdi Abu Dheeb and Jalila Al Salman, there is growing concern that harsh earlier sentences, will be upheld by the appeals court - as in another ruling against Bahraini activists earlier this week.
Bahrain: Grave concerns about teacher unionists in detention
The American Federation of teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA), EI’s national affiliates, honour all workers countrywide on Monday 3 September, U.S. Labour Day.
U.S.A.: Education unionists celebrate Labour Day
The Tanzania Teachers’ Union (TTU) has called off its strike over teachers’ pay, after a High Court ruling found the countrywide action unlawful. The TTU made its decision in order to encourage bilateral discussions with the government to settle its case.
Tanzania: Strike cancelled amid calls for negotiation
Over 30,000 teachers across Uganda have not been paid in July. That’s according to a report by the Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU), one of EI’s national affiliate. The report also points out that some teachers have not been paid since December 2011.
Uganda: Union demands payment of teachers’ salaries
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT), along with other influential organisations, has urged U.S. Labour Secretary Hilda Solis to release her Department’s finding concerning Bahrain’s compliance with provisions of the U.S.-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement (FTA). AFT, one of EI’s affiliates in the U.S., was joined in the initiative by the...
Bahrain: U.S. unions push for respect of human and labour rights