Teachers return this Thursday to strike in the north and center of the country

The Nine Teachers’ Union platform returns to strike in the north and center of the country this Thursday, the first of two days of regional shutdowns, with demonstrations also scheduled for Saturday in Lisbon and Porto.

The strike was announced by the general secretary of the platform’s member National Federation of Teachers (Fenprof) during a demonstration in Lisbon on 11 February.

At the time, Mario Nogueira said that teachers would go on strike again if they did not reach an agreement with the Ministry of Education, as happened last week after the last negotiating meeting on the recruitment and mobility regime.

This Thursday, teachers from the north of Coimbra are on strike. On Friday it was the turn of the teachers from the districts from Leiria to the south.

Schools, however, will have to provide minimum services, as the Court of Arbitration ruled on Monday, which held that the shutdown “cannot be regarded as just a one-day strike that will cause only the normal and legal disturbances that any strike always causes.” , but rather as “another strike in a series of strikes that by and large already threaten to jeopardize the right to education”.

According to the decision, teachers must guarantee three hours of classes in preschool and 1st cycle, as well as three daily classroom periods in 2nd and 3rd cycles and secondary education, to guarantee weekly coverage of various disciplines. .

In addition to classes, support should also be provided for students who benefit from complementary measures within inclusive education, therapeutic support, support for students in vulnerable situations, enrollment of students in units integrated into Learning Support Centers, and continuity of activities aimed at social and emotional well-being. .

Following the arbitration board’s decision, nine trade union organizations announced that they would jointly file a lawsuit against minimum services.

On the other hand, some will submit subpoenas to suspend these minimal services, while others will take precautionary measures.

On Saturday, teachers return to the streets with two demonstrations in Lisbon and Porto, originally scheduled on different days.

Both actions are scheduled for 15:30, two protests start from Rossio in Lisbon and Marquis Square in Porto and are for the Assembly of the Republic for those in Lisbon and Aliados for those in Porto.

Teachers have been on strike since December, while an indefinite strike called by the Union of All Educational Professionals (STOP) continues to protest against the government’s proposal for competitions and placement of teachers.

In the meantime, the trade union platform, which does not include STOP, called for a strike that took place across the districts for 18 days and culminated in a February 11 demonstration that drew more than 100,000 people in Lisbon, according to Fenprof estimates.