The relative calm which had characterized the sector ofeducation over the past two years seems to be a thing of the past. THE strikes recurring events that occurred before the holidays of this third week of October disrupted the progress of classes,primary school until high school. There are fears that these walkouts will resume immediately after the holidays, given the positions of the main unions and their governing bodies.
Unions accuse the Ministry of Education of having abandoned the participatory approach
The numerous meetings (six meetings of the high commission, composed of the minister and the leaders of the four unions, and the meetings of the technical commission, composed of representatives of the administration and the unions, which held 24 meetings to develop this new statute ) made it possible to find common ground. However, on September 27, 2023, the ministry adopted – in Governing Council – the draft decree without taking into account the 43 amendments which had been submitted to it after the meeting of September 20. These amendments were proposed by the unions after receiving the draft of the project from the ministry. This situation has placed trade union organizations in a delicate position, as they have been criticized both by their members and by teachers, who contest the content of the decree.
Strikes in sight: teachers demand constructive dialogue
At the end of this session, the union concluded that the ministry had abandoned the participatory approach in favor of a unilateral approach, causing tensions and divisions within the education sector. He categorically rejects the current content of the statute, condemns the ministry’s failure to respect its commitments at the last meeting of the high commission and calls for dialogue on points of disagreement. The union also condemns the adoption of the compensation system without prior consultation of the technical committees and the high commission. In addition, the union addressed members of teaching staff, inviting them not to be influenced by defamatory campaigns against union action and to strengthen their unity. It reaffirms its commitment to all struggles aimed at realizing demands and establishing fairness for all aggrieved categories. Additionally, it supports quadrilateral union coordination as a strategic option.
Students risk suffering major disruptions to their education
The National Teachers Union (CDT) also expressed a similar position by holding an extraordinary meeting of its national council on Sunday, October 15. Although the content of the communiqué adopted during this meeting has not yet been published, the union’s general secretary, Younes Firachina, said in an interview with “Assahra Al Maghrebia» that the current format of the draft decree does not result from consensus and still requires more in-depth discussions. He stressed that his organization plans to launch a progressive control program in coordination with the management of the CDT plant.
This program will aim to exert pressure leading to the resumption of dialogue and the defense of the interests of the teaching profession. He indicated that this program will be implemented mainly by unions which reject the content of the proposed statute. Younes Firachina also announced that details of the progressive struggle program will be communicated during an upcoming press conference, as well as during a meeting with the other unions of the quadrilateral front to coordinate the next steps. These developments suggest that strikes are expected after the holidays, which risks disrupting the academic performance of students at thepublic education.
2023-10-16 19:11:49
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