The National Federation of Teachers (Fenprof) threatened this Wednesday to go to court if the ministry continues to “discriminate against teachers” who joined the ranks this year and must undergo a probationary period.
Fenprof announced it would take a series of actions to “end discrimination against teachers joining this year”, referring to the trial period, which for the federation means lower salaries and longer working hours.
The probationary period, which lasts one academic year and after which teachers can be dismissed, refers to the first year during which a teacher becomes a permanent employee and is aimed at verifying the professional performance of the teacher.
Fenprof guarantees that all teachers who sign up now already have “many years of experience and numerous positive evaluations necessary to maintain a contract.”
“Those in charge of the Ministry of Education (MOE) keep remembering the nearly 8,000 teachers who joined the ranks, but they don’t mention what they are going to do now. And they don’t do it because what they are about to do is illegal. and discriminatory,” Fenprof accuses in a statement published this Wednesday.
The trade union structure decided to give the ministry until the end of the week to change the current situation, otherwise “it will go to court with four lawsuits, one per regional trade union,” but will also report this to the trade union. The Assembly of the Republic and the Office of the Ombudsman “requested to review the constitutionality of the situation created.”
The European Commission will also be one of the recipients of the complaint “for a violation of the directive establishing non-discrimination in the salaries of teachers for reasons related to the employment relationship.”
According to Fenprof, “what is happening is absurd and unacceptable,” remembering that the guardianship, on the one hand, hires unprofessional teachers, and on the other, imposes a probationary period on teachers who have already “taught for many years.” .
At the same time, these teachers remain at the 1st stage for now, and colleagues with fixed-term contracts will be able to reach the corresponding 3rd stage in their careers if they have sufficient work experience, the federation adds.
“Pay discrimination against teachers on fixed-term contracts means that full-time teachers are now discriminated against against their colleagues,” Fenprof charges.
Fenprof says he has written to the minister demanding that the situation be resolved, acknowledging the organization of a meeting with the ministry demanding “fair and non-discriminatory treatment.”
According to the federation, all teachers who joined this year should be exempt from this probationary period, which is “designed to pay teachers less while requiring them to work more teaching hours than required by law.”
Last week, the Independent Union of Teachers and Educators (SIPE) also asked the ministry to change the situation, considering that it was promoting “serious injustice”: “It is impossible by law to reduce the salary rate for teachers completing their probationary period.” , which may happen from the next academic year.”
The National Federation of Education (FNE) also demanded that the guardianship authorities review the regime of release from probation.