SDP proposes payment of teachers’ seniority in stages over five years

PSD President Luis Montenegro announced this Saturday that the party will offer phased payment for teachers’ experience over five years, allocating 20% ​​each year.

After a week dedicated to the education sector, the PSD president announced in Porto some of the party’s proposals for what he considered a “sector in crisis”, which range from pre-school education to the restoration of teachers’ working hours.

To the activists present in the initiative, Luis Montenegro announced his intention to pay teachers’ working hours in stages over five years “at a rate of 20% each year.” This measure, he said, is “compatible with strict management of resources.”

The Social Democratic leader also said that on this occasion he will ask the Technical Budget Office (UTAO) and the Public Finance Council to calculate the exact budgetary consequences of reinstating seniority, adding that after hearing the teachers’ representatives, “the damage can be estimated at 250–300 million euros” .

For the SDP, “there is an urgent need to present solutions to alleviate the shortage of teachers in thousands of schools, which is greatly aggravated by the cost of housing.” Therefore, it is necessary for Social Democrats to significantly reduce the number of teachers being forced out of their area of ​​residence, and significantly:

– Create an IRS deduction for living expenses for teachers located more than 70 kilometers from their place of residence;

– Changing the teacher selection model to take into account factors such as location and grade (not just course GPA and length of service), ensuring fairness, adaptability, efficiency and effectiveness, using adjustment factors between different stages of competition and accessibility;

– Rethinking the teacher profile and creating a system for assessing teaching effectiveness in the context of 21st century skills. XXI, with the necessary adaptation of continuing and initial teacher training.