Will Thursday be a black day? While Elisabeth Borne presented her pension reform on January 10, the teacher unions want to weigh as much as possible against the government. The reform could result in the street by a “massive mobilization”, hope the unions. They will leave united at all levels of the profession.
While primary school teachers have until Monday evening to declare their intention to go on strike, or not, on January 19, the stated objective of all the unions is to “succeed in this mobilization”.
According to Philippe Alberge from UNSA Hérault, “from the feedback we have, it’s off to a good start. Many schools will be closed. In Piscenois we expect 75% of strikers, the same rate as in January 2022 when Jean-Michel Blanquer announced the health protocol inapplicable in schools.”
In the Florensac school where Philippe Alberge works, there are 11 teachers.
There was no debate. All the teachers have decided to mobilize. There will be no school that day. It is not yet known whether the canteen will operate. The staff has yet to comment.
Philippe Alberge, teacher
All schools in town and rural areas will be affected. Because teachers are standing up against the postponement of the legal retirement age. The prospect of working two more years for a profession whose entry into activity is late ulcerates the unions.
“Teachers who started working before 1990 signed up to leave at 55. Today they are asked to work until they are 64! For us, the watchword is simple: neither a day nor a month , nor an additional year. It is impossible” continues Philippe Alberge.
Contrary to the 1st degree, the professors of colleges and high schools do not have the obligation to declare themselves strikers 48 hours before. But the mobilization is also announced “massive”. Félicien Venot is a high school teacher in Lodève and elected to the UNSA department. In his establishment, which has a hundred professors, “at least one in two tells me they want to stop work on January 19”.
One of the motivations for going on strike is not taking into account the arduous nature of their job.
Imagine yourself at 67 in front of 15-year-old students, in often very full classes, it takes a lot of energy.
Lucien Venot, teacher.
And his colleague from the FSU Hérault, Magali Kordjiani added: “We won’t last until 64 or more. We have psychological, nervous fatigue and a lot of stress. Our working conditions are deteriorating and it is not possible to ask us for this extra effort.”
All the unions affirm it: today, more and more teachers are asking for conventional breaks and are looking for ways of retraining. A growing phenomenon.
According to the FSU, the main teachers’ union in the 1st and second degree, the emergency is next Thursday. “We have canceled the call for a strike on Tuesday January 17 that we had decided at the beginning of December which concerned working conditions and wages. We want to concentrate our efforts on January 19 and not disperse our forces”, says Christine St Joanis, departmental secretary FSU 34.
Because Thursday, it is a united trade union front (FSU, CGT, South, Unsa and FO) which will mobilize in the streets. “After 2 years of health crisis, inflation and low morale, this reform is a huge political and strategic mistake”, explains Magali Kordjiani, from SNUIPP FSU Hérault.
The pension reform adds to the discomfort and anger of teachers. They will not hesitate to demonstrate this Thursday.
