Teachers return to the street on February 25, STOP coordinator reports

André Pestana, leader of the STOP (Union of All Educational Professionals), announced this Friday the big march on February 25th.

Before entering a meeting with the Minister of Education, the trade union leader criticized the government’s position. “We have to shame this government. The money goes to corruption, they go to offshore companies, but they don’t go to the most important thing,” Andre Pestana said.

The protest, scheduled for February 25 in Lisbon, will begin at the Palace of Justice and end in front of the Assembly of the Republic, where the “burial of a quality public school” will take place.

André Pestana explained that at the Palace of Justice “they will demand justice for those who work in public schools” and then the demonstrators will march past the official residence of the Prime Minister to “symbolically put pressure” on António Costa, ending the protest in front of the Assembly Republic.

The march, he says, is a response to “continued intransigence on the part of the Department of Education regarding the basic demands of teachers and non-teachers and in the face of consistent attacks on freedom and the right to strike.”

“The government says it is negotiating, but this is a deliberate lie. The document does not meet the requirements,” he added.

FENPROF leader Mario Nogueira told reporters that “the prime minister is not very serious in the statements he makes” and stressed that he is confident that “the fight will continue. The example set by colleagues shows that they are not going to give up.”

In addition to restoring more than six years of frozen work time, Stop is asking for a €120 raise from all professionals to respond to inflation.

This Friday will see the second meeting of the fifth round of negotiations, which began in September and already has new meetings scheduled for next week.