Educating in a Global Economy

Planning of the Third World Congress, which will be held in Kathmandu (Nepal) from 25 to 29 July 2001 was high on the agenda of the members of EI Executive Board meeting in Brussels on 24-26 October.

The theme of the Congress will be “Educating in a Global Economy”. Round Tables will cover related “sub-themes” such as education partnerships, new technologies and rights and employment conditions. The Executive Board also agreed to propose only a small number of resolutions, to permit sufficient time for discussing the concerns submitted by member organisations. It is not intended that the Congress will spend time confirming or updating resolutions passed at earlier Congresses.

The 15th Executive Board also reviewed EI’s structures, policies and practices, as called for by the last Congress. The Board discussed submissions from 17 member organisations or groups of organisations and will now circulate comments and proposals which will give priority to effectiveness in fulfilling EI’s mission and the protection and promotion of its democratic nature, whilst recognising the limitations in EI resources. An important debate in Kathmandu is anticipated.

The Board received a progress report on the preparation of the Programme and Budget for 2002-2004. Full proposals will be circulated after the Board meeting in March 2001.

The Board had a constructive discussion on the concept of “public education” in the new millennium, a discussion triggered by the success of the Global Campaign for Education and the recognition of a spectrum of different traditions throughout the world. It is intended that a statement be prepared for the Congress, after further consideration at the next Executive Board.

The Board had preliminary discussion on a draft of an International Code of Ethics for Teachers. This arises from the wide range of different national practices and addresses questions such as professional relations between colleagues, the commitment to students, parents, etc.

The Board agreed a new strategy for recruiting new member organisations and better serving and retaining the existing large membership. After consolidating the “new” EI, there is now a need to seek further members, without compromising the criteria laid down in the Constitution. An action plan will be produced, there will be attention to the information and advice given to applicants and timetables for part of the application process will be set.

The EI Campaign on the International Year for a Culture of Peace will from now on focus on the work of EI in the former Yugoslavia and Sierra Leone and other post conflict situations. The Report on the campaign against HIV/AIDS was welcomed, with emphasis being placed on work at local level throughout the world.

The Board endorsed the recommendations made by the Status of Women Committee on maternity protection; gender perspective in development projects; EI participation in United Nations forums; the role of the Committee in relation to the Structure Review and the Kathmandu Congress and the ICFTU Millennium Review.

The Board also expressed its strong support for teachers in Korea in their campaign for collective bargaining rights and called for the release from jail of leaders of Chunkyojo.

Minor revisions to the 2000 and 2001 Budgets were approved, together with Special Agreements for unions facing serious financial and related problems.

The following organisations were welcomed into membership:
 

AITUCEW          Azerbaijan
SYNESTP           Benin
SYNADEEPCI    Ivory Coast
TUESWK            Kyrgystan
SNEP                  Rwanda
SUDES               Senegal
UDEN                 Senegal
NTA                    Republic of China (Taiwan)

Please note:
NFTA of Bangladesh was suspended indefinitely from membership

Unions flex muscles for another Global Action Week in favour of Quality Public Education in April 2001

Following the intensive mobilisation that took place during the World Education Forum in Dakar (April 2000) and the first week of action (3-9 April 2000), the Steering Committee of the Global Campaign for Education, meeting in Johannesburg (South Africa) on 3-4 October, agreed to repeat the Global Action Week during the first week of April 2001 (2-8 April 2001).
The Global Campaign and the organisations that support it have decided to maintain strong pressure at national and international level to ensure that national action plans incorporated within the Framework for Action adopted in Dakar are drawn up with civil society.
A campaign delegation consisting principally of Elie Jouen, EI Deputy General Secretary and Tom Bediako, EI Chief Coordinator for Africa, met Eduardo Doryan, Vice-President of the World Bank on 28 September in Prague in the course of the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, and UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura on 29 September in Paris.
All member organisations of the campaign will also meet together in India during February 2001 for a conference that will determine national and international actions.
 
   

WORLD TEACHERS’ DAY 2000 TEACHERS EXPANDING HORIZONS

STUDENTS PAY HOMAGE TO TEACHERS

Six months after the World Education Forum held in Dakar on 26-28 April, Senegal once again turned its attention to education in celebrating World Teachers’ Day. On the occasion of a round table coordinated by UNESCO, the leaders of the Senegal Union of Teachers (SYPROS) reaffirmed their will to achieve the goal of a quality Education for All to promote a culture of peace. The SNEEL held a conference in Saint-Louis on « The condition of the education personnel on the verge of the new millennium : stakes and prospects ». Simultaneously, UNESCO organised a drawing and poetry competition for primary school students. The theme was « My schoolteacher… What she/he brings me and what am I doing in return ».
http://www.dakar.unesco.org

An essay competition was initiated in Québec by the CSQ for students aged 6 to 17. Entitled « Mad, mad, mad about my teacher », the competition gave children an opportunity to write about a teacher  whose influence on their lives was decisive. http://www.ceq.qc.ca
The Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) launched a new website on October 5. It featured downloadable « Thank you » cards for students to print, fold and send to their teachers. http://www.ctf-fce.ca. October 5 was also the day when WTD was officialy recognised by the House of Commons.

The website was also the main attraction for the American NEA. « Teachers Open Worlds to Students » tells the story of a few teachers who made a difference. These profiles were taken from Class Acts : How Teachers Awaken Potential, co-published by EI and UNESCO. Students could send e-cards and quotes chosen from a large panel to their favorite teachers. http://www.nea.org The American Federation of Teachers website also featured WTD information and links to EI. http://www.aft.org

In Barbados the BSTU and BUT joined forces to release quotes and poems about teachers. The Antigua & Barbudian television interviewed children who expressed their feelings about the importance of teachers and the educational system.

In relation to the EI campaign encouraging « Stamps for World Teachers' Day »,  the Postal Office of Uruguay has already decided to honour teachers with a special stamp for WTD 2001. The process is ongoing in other countries. Last year, 20 stamps from six different countries were issued. It is hoped that by 2003, a WTD stamp will be issued in all the participating countries. http://www.ei-ie.org/phila/ewtd.htm  

SADTU 10th anniversary

This year’s WTD coincided with the tenth anniversary of SADTU (South African Democratic Teachers’ Union) which fell on October 6. Activities were organised throughout the week to celebrate both these occasions. Panel discussions featured international guests including the EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen who talked about “Globalisation and struggle for public education”, his Deputy Elie Jouen and EI Chief Regional Coordinator for Africa Tom Bediako who took part in a “Curriculum transformation” seminar. On WTD, SADTU leadership and membership travelled to Nelspruit to join members of the South African Council of Educators in the celebrations. On October 6, various cultural events took place all over the country. On the 7th, a dinner banquet was attended by the Minister of Labour (ex-SADTU President Membatisi Sherpard Mdladlana), the Minister of Education Prof. Kader Asmal and SADTU and COSATU President Willy Madisha. For more information, check out http://www.sadtu.org.za .
 

SOCIAL EVENTS & GATHERINGS

Helsinki: Opettaja 2000: Opettaja (Teacher) is a cultural festival that is organised every four years. The festival is aimed at teachers and other personnel working in the field of education and also to the public at large. On WTD, 20,000 apples were given to pedestrians at the main railway stations of Helsinki to express “Teachers’ humanity and personality”, the theme of the day. Students and pedestrian made the world’s largest pointer of a fir. A film festival took place the next day with the collaboration of film directors and specialists, a great public success. Three films were presented, all featuring teachers as their main character: Mr Holland’s opus, Le plus beau métier du monde and Ça commence aujourd’hui. The theme of October 7 was “Teacher is a pioneer”. Various lectures and workshops focused on the new ways of communication and the festival closed with a big evening party. This event “was a good way to involve teachers and students in trade union work. They enjoyed it”, said Marjatta Melto from OAJ Finland. On October 8, 9, and 10, an EI round table for teachers’ unions from the OECD zone was held on the theme: “Education and technology”. http://www.oaj.fi/ope2000 and http://www.ope2000.net

During four days in Vienna, the Austrian teachers’ union GoD also focused on technology as they organised an interactive presentation called “From the Letterstreet to the Datahighway” where they displayed all the activities students and teachers had already performed using the computer and internet.

The celebration of WTD is a tradition in Estonia. In all the counties, local authorities and educational institutions held festive receptions to honour the teachers, together with concerts, theatre performances, and balls. The Minister of Education and the Chairman of EEPU forwarded their greetings through the media. On October 7, the winners of the Teacher of the Year 2000 competition were invited to meet the Minister of Education and the Chairman of EEPU in Tallinn. More than 1,000 teachers attended at the ball which followed.

The members of the Education and Science Employees’ Union of Russia (ESEUR) picketed the State Duma (parliament) to demand an increase in the education budget and the increase and prompt payment of the teachers’ wages. The union leadership then met with the Vice-Premier and the President of the Duma to discuss the current situation in Russian education.

Seminars, panel discussions and meetings took place in almost every province of Turkey. About 30,000 educators participated in the celebrations with great enthusiasm. In Izmir, a representative group of Greek teachers participated at the activities organised by EGITIM SEN. However, these activities were banned by the Governors of four provinces: Diyarbakir, Artvin, Batman and Adiyaman.

Union representatives from all over Latin America converged in Argentina for a three-day forum including conferences, panel discussions and presentations. On October 4 the “Health Code for Schools of the South-American Continent” was introduced along with a new Health Department for schools. On WTD, the participants reflected on the commitments and achievements of the Education Platform of the Second Summit of the Americas held in Santiago de Chile two years ago. On the last day of the forum, EI members Juçara Dutra from CNTE-Brasil, Isabel Guzman from CPC-Chile and Marta Maffei and Hugo Yasky of CTERA-Argentina were among the speakers in the conference on the theme “Decentralisation and Privatisation of Education”.

In Burkina Faso, SNEA-B and SNESS coordinated the activities of October 5 which enjoyed great public success. A declaration and a conference hosted by an eminent professor of the Ouagadougou University took place on the theme: “Teachers Expanding Horizons”. Later in the day, a film evening was attended by students of school and higher education.

3,000 teachers from all of the 17 union sections of SET marched towards the Place de l’Indépendance in Ndjamena, Chad, where they were greeted by the President of SET and various members of the government, including the Prime Minister representing the Head of State.

A seminar on leadership and communication for FESEN local executives took place October 3-5 in Kara, Togo and allowed the teachers to elaborate their complaints. The process was concluded by a debate-conference on the 5th in the presence of the Town Prefect and education administrators. The theme of the conference was chosen according to the situation in Togo: “Trade Unionism and Conscientiousness”. The teachers set out their demands to the Town Prefect: the right to strike and to work according to the UNESCO recommendation. The payment of wages is months behind and several striking teachers were threatened by the authorities.

In Ghana, WTD is so popular that it has turned into Teachers’ Week. Throughout the week, meetings were set up between teachers and students, parents and government officials. In a resolution adopted jointly by GNAT and TEWU, the unions reiterated their call to the government to make a real commitment to quality education and to have a greater desire to improve the working conditions of education personnel. A sensitive point was the withholding of the supervision and extra duty allowances. Among other activities were a march of teachers in Accra and a joint GNAT/ TEWU seminar on a pension scheme for educational employees. The celebrations came to a climax on October 5th with the National Durbar of Teachers where 21 teachers received awards from the hands of the President of Ghana, H.E. J.J. Rawlings.

The SINPRESTEP of Sao Tomé organised cultural and sporting activities such as men’s and women’s football matches between teachers. A round table on the theme: “Taking precautions against early pregnancy at school” took place as well as a conference entitled: “Civil society and the challenge of quality Education for All”.

In Malaysia, about 3,000 school representatives participated in a national walkathon: “Walk for the teaching profession” set up by the NUTP. A forum to discuss the topic “Save the teaching profession” also took place and was attended by over 2,000 teachers throughout the country.

It was the first time that the Minister of Education of Vanuatu attended WTD celebrations. He and two other government representatives gave speeches and paraded through the capital along with 300 teachers, with the police and their brass band supporting them.

On September 5, Teachers’ Day in India, a National Planning Seminar of the AIFTO was held in Delhi to plan activities at national and state level for the coming two years. On October 5, as is the tradition of AIFTO, many Indian affiliates honoured the teachers who have rendered more than 35 years service. The functions ended with a commitment to fight against child labour.

Because WTD took place during the Dashain Festival, the greatest festival in Nepal, all schools and offices remained closed. The Nepal National Teachers’ Association did however coordinate numerous activities. NNTA distributed posters and greeting cards with the theme chosen by EI: “Teachers Expanding Horizons”. Programmes of talks in various districts were aimed at creating teachers' and public awareness to such sensitive issues as child labor, union participation and the goal of quality Education for All. These programs are to be continued throughout the year. Katmandu, Nepal is the venue of the next EI World Congress to be held from 25 to 29 July 2001.

Belgian union ACOD-Onderwijs was invited by the Flemish Minister of Education Marleen Vanderpoorten to a forum in the Flemish Parliament. The floor was given to EI and World Confederation of Teachers representatives as well as to teachers who talked about their everyday problems. The great turnout encouraged the Minister to promise the organisation of WTD events in future years.

Three of Spain’s main unions (STEs, FETE-UGT and FECCOO) used the media to voice their hopes for WTD. They focused on the social dimension of education and requested the government not only to increase its financial commitment but also to produce it where it was needed.

HUMAN AND TRADE UNION RIGHTS

Following the aborted EI mission to Ethiopia in July, the partial seizing of their finances and the sealing of their offices, ETA affiliates prepared for a gloomy WTD. However, the denial of their rights to free speech and association did not stop them in gathering inside the office compound of ETA on October 7. Present for the occasion were teachers from Addis Ababa and its outskirts, leaders of civic organisations and supporters of the cause. Ethiopian television also attended but did not report the meeting. ETA issued a ten-point declaration highlighting their problems and requests regarding the New Education and Training policy. They also urged the government to release Dr. Taye Woldesemiate and praised others ETA martyrs. They received the support of Ato Kifle Mulat, President of the Ethiopian Free Journalists Association (EFJA): “You should not wear dark clothes to mourn your martyr brothers but hold high the banner of those colleagues who are chained and exiled and persevere in carrying out your responsibility to help create a better future for the new generation”.

Meanwhile, the international effort organised by EI to release Dr. Woldesemiate continues. Working alongside Amnesty International, British unions including AUT, NASUWT, NUT, NATHFE and EIS launched a global action to free jailed teachers on October 5. They used their publications and websites to raise the profile of teachers who are suffering human rights abuse around the world, a list of whom is available online at http://www.aut.org.uk/news/amnesty_teachers.html Visitors have the opportunity to write to their oppressors to demand their release.

In South Korea, a national Teachers’ Day is observed on May 15. On this day 8,300 teachers and educators were awarded for their meritorious services. Many VIPs including the Minister of Education, the Head of the Education Committee of National Assembly and the families of the awardees took part at the main ceremony held in the KFTA headquarters. No celebrations took place on October 5 because of a protest which started on 27th of September 2000 to force the government to respect the agreement on collective bargaining rights signed on July 3rd. EI reacted by issuing an urgent resolution concerning this situation. The EI Executive Board urges the Government of South Korea to respect the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Minister of Education and CHUNKYOJO. They also request the government to release the two CHUNKYOJO leaders Kim Yeun Hung, Chief Vice President and Cho Hee Joo, Chief of the Seoul branch; to fully respect the ILO Declaration of Fundamental Principles of Rights at Work; and to enable CHUNKYOJO to exercise the basic trade union right to bargain collectively on behalf of its members.

On WTD in the Ivory Coast, a nationwide state of emergency had been declared by the then President General Robert Guei. He has now been removed from office by his socialist rival Laurent Gbagbo, but troubles are not over as others emerge to claim the leadership of the country.

The EER of Rwanda did not plan any activities because of the political situation. The focus of the whole country is on the National Congress on Unity and Reconciliation which was held at the same time.

The Fiji Teachers’ Union reported that despite the political turmoil and confusion in the country, they still went ahead and celebrated WTD 2000 on October 5. They also took the opportunity to thank everyone especially the school managements for their efforts in honouring the teachers once more and making this event a memorable one.

Mr Arab Azzi, General Secretary of SATEF, met with the Minister of Education to talk about the shortage of teachers in Algeria and to express his concern regarding the harmful privatisation of public responsibilities such as health and education. SATEF is convinced the Algerian school system is almost bankrupt and accuses the government of being repressive and corrupted. On October 5, SATEF initiated a teachers’ protest and sit-in at the Government Palace during which many teachers were beaten by the police.
 

Cooperation & democratisation process in the former Yugoslavia

A very successful EI Conference was held in Igalo, Montenegro on 5-7 October. The participants were drawn from the EI affiliates in countries of the former Yugoslavia: ESWUS (Slovenia), ITUPEWBH and ITUSS (Bosnia Herzegovina), TUKEHSEC (Croatia), STU (Serbia), ITUESCSM (Montenegro), ATUESCPCY (Fed.Rep. of Yugoslavia) and NEZAVISNOST as observers. EI was represented by its Deputy General Secretary Sheena Hanley and by Human and Trade Union Rights Coordinator Rosslyn Noonan.
The difficulties faced by the unions following ten years of war in the region, combined with the massive movement of refugees, as well as the problems of moving to a market economy have presented the unions with huge challenges. The impact on unions of a lack of labour legislation or changes to legislation removing previously guaranteed rights, working in countries where the unemployment rate exceeds 60% as well as trying to find ways to overcome the ethnic divisions caused by the brutal wars were all discussed in the conference. The stages of transition in the countries represented are very different and information and strategies can be shared to help unions gain from the experience of their colleagues. The participants indicated that it was the first time they have had the opportunity to deal with some very painful issues among themselves. A joint resolution was adopted and it was decided to improve bilateral relations and contacts between the unions.
However, October 5 will be remembered in Yugoslavia as the day Yugoslav citizens, by massive participation in demonstrations and general strike, won the recognition of their will expressed in the 24th September elections and the hope for a better, democratic future. For Vukasin Zogovic, President of ATUESCPCY: “It is by our members’ active contribution to the victory of democracy in Serbia that we also gave our contribution to World Teachers’ Day celebrations”.
 

Declaration on “The Daily Work of Teachers” signed in Bremen, Germany

The organisation of a nationwide WTD event is difficult in Germany because the country is divided between 16 “Länder”, each having their own Minister of Education. This year, thanks to GEW, the traditional conference of the 16 Ministers of Education was held on October 5 in Bremen. The Ministers invited the unions and the teachers to participate in the talks and they reached an agreement that redefines the status of the German teacher. They issued a joint declaration on “The Daily Work of Teachers”. One of the main issues of the conference was to improve the image of teachers across Germany. The agreement therefore defines a new approach to education in which the state and the teachers are on equal terms in dealing with educational problems. The teachers were recognised as “experts of the learning process”.
The Ministers recognised the need for in-service training for teachers, for instance to face the challenge of the new technologies. The declaration also recognises the need for internal and external evaluation. This was a controversial point as teachers did not want to ratify a process that will lead to a division between “bad” and “good” schools, and to a greater amount of work without a pay rise. Finally, the text was accepted on the condition that its goal must always remain to improve the educational system and not to rate it. http://www.gew.de
 

American Education Week

In the United States, WTD has to compete with the American Education Week, a strong tradition which dates back to the 1920’s. It was first launched to eliminate illiteracy amongst World War 1 draftees and to generate public support for education. Today, it is co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and 12 national organisations including unions (NEA, AFT, etc.) and the American Legion.
The theme for 2000 is “Children-Schools-Parents: Helping Students Achieve”. Each day of the week has a specific theme and Wednesday is Educational Support Personnel Day. American Education Week is always the week prior to Thanksgiving. The dates for this year are November 12-18.  

Africa

Regional Development Cooperation meeting

Every three years, a regional development cooperation meeting takes place on each continent. The African meeting was held on 5-6 September in Ho (Ghana) in association with the EI African Regional Committee (EIARC). This meeting brought together 50 participants from cooperating organisations such as the FEN and SNES from France, CTF and CSQ from Canada, NL Norway, OAJ Finland, Laraforbundet Sweden, DLF Denmark, AFT and NEA from the United States, and host organisations including SENA Gabon, KNUT Kenya, SLTU Sierra Leone, SNEN Niger, ZNUT Zambia, SNEC Mali and SNEPPCI Côte d’Ivoire, and members of the EI Regional Office in Lomé.
The main aims of the meeting were to evaluate the development cooperation policies in Africa, and to discuss more specific issues, such as EI’s actions in support of quality public education for all, health education, education against child labour, and the specific situation prevailing in francophone Africa. The Ho meeting, chaired by Elie Jouen, EI Deputy General Secretary, also provided an opportunity to facilitate bilateral discussions between cooperating and host organisations.
 

Successful EI/FES/World Bank/ILO/UNESCO partnership

A partnership between EI, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) and the three UN agencies was established in 1999 to organise training seminars for African trade union leaders. Three sub-regional seminars have so far taken place in Mauritius, Egypt and Niger. The fourth meeting, which was co-funded by EI and the FES, took place in Ho (Ghana) from 11 to 14 September, and was for English-speaking trade unions in West Africa: Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
Alain Mingat from the World Bank, Elie Jouen, EI Deputy General Secretary, Tom Bediako, EI Chief Regional Coordinator for Africa and Emmanuel Fatoma, Coordinator for Africa, chaired meetings that mainly focused on the role of the public and private sectors in development policies, tax policies and the public sector, debt reduction, and reforms aimed at improving the quality of public education. This partnership will continue into 2001 with two further sub-regional meetings in Gabon and Uganda.

Asia

Eastern Asia Region in favour of quality public education

The 5th East Asia Education Forum on the theme Education Reform for Quality Public Education in the 21st Century was held in Seoul from 7 to 8 November at the initiative of two EI affiliates in South Korea, the KFTA and the KTU. In addition to the Korean organisations, the forum was attended by large delegations from the JTU Japan, the China Education Society of Taiwan, the HKTA of Hong Kong and the Mongolian Teachers’ Union.
This sub-regional meeting provided excellent preparation for debates on the globalisation of the economy, and the penetration into our societies of information and communication technology, which will be features of the next EI World Congress. The 6th Forum will take place in Mongolia in July 2002.  

Europe

EI Europe Round Table on Early Childhood Education

Representatives of 32 member organisations of EI Europe met on 23-24 November in Paris (France) for the Round Table on "Quality Public Education for All – the Education of Teachers for Early Childhood Education". The participants examined trends in the education of early childhood education teachers and outlined union strategies for the development of early childhood education. Themes covered were: “Present trends and developments related to quality of education”, “Problems and challenges in the education of early childhood education teachers” and “How EI’s work in Europe should continue in relation to early childhood education – policies and activities”. After the official meeting, participants were invited by their host organisations to visit French schools for Early Childhood Education.
 

EIE-Equal Opportunities Committee highlights the rights of minorities and disabled persons

Members of the EI Europe Equal Opportunities Committee met on 21-22 September in Brussels to discuss the right to education of ethnic minorities, and the situation of disabled persons in the education sector. Mr. Adam Tyson and André Gubbels from the European Commission were invited to talk about the new European directive on non-discrimination and on the EU policy on disability. A working group composed of members of the Committee met on October 16-17 and drafted a policy document on these themes, which will be presented to the Round Table on the Implications for Equality of the Educational reforms in Central and Eastern Europe to be organised by EI in Prague, December 4-6, 2000.
   

Latin America

Further Commitments in the Fight against Child Labour

The EI Regional Office will organise three more national seminars on combating child labour through education as part of EI's close collaboration with the ILO campaign against child labour. The seminars are planned for Argentina (14-16 December 2000), Paraguay (17-19 December 2000) and Chile (17-19 January 2001). More information from the regional office: e-mail: educint@sol.racsa.co.cr
Similarly the African regional office is holding seminars in Benin and Ghana in December. In Asia, Sri Lanka was added to the EI/ILO child labour project, with a seminar planned in that country in December 2000.
 
 

North America / Caribbean

Regional Conference on School Reform in the 21st Century for January 2001

About 80 participants from the NA/C region will join on 18-21 January 2001 for the EI Regional Conference on School Reform in the 21st Century in Grenada. The sub themes consist of Teacher performance & evaluation, School climate, Violence & indiscipline in schools, Teacher professional development, and Higher Education issues. The Caribbean Union of Teachers (CUT) Executive Board will meet on the 17th January and the 20 participants of the women’s seminar will work, among other things, on gender neutral language. The 18th, EI coordinator for Development Cooperation will convene a session on Development cooperation projects. EI regional representative Virginia Albert is coordinating the preparation of these activities.

EI fears for the safety of trade unionists in Swaziland

EI launched an Urgent Action Appeal on Swaziland on November 20, following serious attacks by the Swaziland police and military against leaders of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) and other trade union leaders including the General Secretary of the Swaziland trade union centre. On November 14, two officials from the teachers union were savagely assaulted by the police and had to be hospitalised.
EI member organisations are invited to send protest letters to the Swaziland Prime Minister, the Honorable B. Dlamini, calling for the end of all violence against the trade unionists and others engaged in peaceful protest, and urging the government to begin a genuine dialogue on the democratisation of Swaziland.
EI and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions also asked the ILO Director-General Juan Somavia to personally intervene to "prevent a very bad situation from deteriorating further". Further information on the EI website: http://www.ei-ie.org/action/english/etrswaziland.htm
 

Meeting of the EI Status of Women Committee

The Status of Women committee which met on October 23th 2000 submitted three recommendations to the EI Executive Board, which subsequently endorsed them:
 

• ILO Convention on Maternity Protection, to publicise the new ILO Convention on Maternity protection and promote its ratification
• Gender & Development, that all development cooperation projects be assessed in terms of a gender perspective ant their impact on gender equality
• UNGASS on Children, endorse EI's active participation in the preparations for the United Nations General Assembly on Children and in the Assembly itself (september 2001)

Educators from the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina meet

A seminar held in BanjaLuka (Republika Srpska) on 17-18 November brought together, for the first time since the end of the war, representatives of the education unions from Bosnia and Herzegovina and from the Republika Srpska. The conference dealt with trade union organisation, the status of teachers and the problems confronting trade unions in transition. The seminar, attended by EI Deputy General Secretary Sheena Hanley, Bjoernar Mjoen of Laererforbundet (Norway) and Hasan Ajnadzic of NL (Norway), is the first in a series of joint activities that will be undertaken to promote cooperation between education personnel in the two entities of the country and to address issues of concern to both unions.
A follow-up visit to BanjaLuka was made by Sheena Hanley for discussions with the 17,800 strong Union of Education, Science and Culture of Republika Srpska. The union had just signed a collective agreement following a week’s strike in October. Despite agreement on the payment of salary arrears, the government has not yet paid the teachers what is owed to them. Preparation of a council meeting to determine further strategy to ensure payment of salary arrears (from 3 to 8 months) as well as to begin planning for elections in the union was underway during the visit.
 

Child Labour: Europe is not spared, 400,000 children are illegally employed in Italy, says CGIL

A report by the Italian trade union centre CGIL shows that more than 400,000 children, between the ages of 11 and 14, work in Italy. Education is compulsory in Italy until the age of 15, but 42% of those working before that age have dropped out of school. Half of the children work more than eight hours a day but do not receive any of the benefits enjoyed by regular workers, such as fixed work hours or paid vacations. Four out of 10 children make less than 200,000 lire ($89) a month and only 4% receive more than one million lire.

 

EDUCATION

‘Education and technology’ in OECD countries

Almost 100 leaders of EI affiliated organisations in OECD countries discussed the issue of ‘Education and Technology’ at an EI round table in Helsinki (Finland) on 8-10 October. The participants highlighted the fact that current economic policies involved permanent competitiveness sustained not only by a reduction in production costs, but also by innovation, creativity and the introduction onto the market of new products and services. In this respect, the quality and adaptability of human resources have become key strategic issues that exert immense pressure on the organisation of education systems. Former World Bank official Steve Heyneman and Belgian journalist Gérard de Sélys identified the role that civil society, including teachers’ trade unions, can play in the context of the world education market.
More specific questions such as the increasing impact of the private sector on the organisation of education, merit pay in Great Britain, and teachers’ qualifications were presented by Marilies Retting, President of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF), Nigel de Gruchy, General Secretary of the NASUWT (United Kingdom) and Charlie Lennon, General Secretary of ASTI (Ireland).
 

Educating for a Sustainable Future

In October, EI Executive Board members were presented with a UNESCO programme for teachers entitled "Educating for a Sustainable Future". The programme uses the EI Resolution on Environmentally Sustainable Development as one of its starting points. All the material is presented on a CD Rom and may be used by a teacher working alone or by a group of teachers as part of their professional development. The material will be trialled early next year, and can be consulted on http://ww4.gu.edu.au/ext/unesco. Selected EI member organisations will review the material as part of the trial. UNESCO is planning to make the CD roms widely and freely available. The programme was introduced to Executive Board members by Jeanne Damlamian, Senior Programme Specialist at UNESCO.
 
 
 

DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION

The annual EI development cooperation meeting took place on 28-29 November in Brussels. The issues of Gender and Development, Development Cooperation in Central and Eastern Europe and South-South cooperation were high on the agenda. Furthermore the participants discussed ways to improve the quality and efficiency of the work to be done. The meeting was attended by representatives from almost all cooperating organisations.
 
   

PUBLIC@TIONS

ICFTU Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights 2000
Together with its affiliates and the International Trade Secretariats, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions wages a permanent campaign for the universal respect of trade union rights, as guaranteed by the Conventions of the International Labour Organisation.
The Survey details violations of trade union rights in 113 countries during the period from January 1, 1999 to December 31, 1999. It says that 140 trade unionists were assassinated, disappeared, or committed suicide after they were threatened, because they had the courage to stand up for workers’ rights, nearly 3000 people were arrested, more then 1,500 were injured, beaten or tortured and at least 5,800 were harassed because of their legitimate trade union activities. Another 700 trade unionists received death threats. http://www.icftu.org
Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights, 2000 Edition. 190 pages, also available in French and Spanish.

Dakar Framework for Action
In April 2000, some 1100 representatives from 164 countries gathered in Dakar for the World Education Forum. The conference committed the international community to ensuring that universal access to quality basic education is achieved and sustained by 2015. The Global Campaign for Education, of which EI is part, was instrumental in strenghtening the Dakar Framework of Action. UNESCO has now released this document, together with the six regional frameworks for action, as well as the World Declaration on Education for All adopted in Jomtien in 1990. More information at http://www2.unesco.org/wef/ and efa@unesco.org
Dakar Framework for Action, Education for All: Meeting our Collective Commitments, 80 pages, also available in French and Spanish.

UNICEF’s 2000 Annual Report
Special focus on Education and AIDS Prevention.
More information at http://www.unicef.org and pubdoc@unicef.org
UNICEF, New York, 2000, ISBN 92-806-3595-6. Also available in French and Spanish.

IOM World Migration Report 2000
The International Organisation for Migration IOM's World Migration Report 2000' includes readable topical and regional overviews of migration trends, with a look at what problems may emerge in future. IOM fears that illegal smuggling and the sex trade in humans increase in tandem. An estimated 700,000 to 2 million women and children are trafficked globally each year. Many such migrants find themselves forced into prostitution and/or effective slavery to pay off their debt to the traffickers, the IOM said.
More information at http://www.iom.int and info@iom.int
IOM, Geneva, ISBN 92-9068-089-X, UN Sales No: E.00.III.S.3, 297 pages, Price: US$39.00
 
 

Recent EI publications Great Expectations, the Future of Trade in Services, EI/PSI joint publication, available in English, French and Spanish. Non-Teaching Personnel is the focus of the December issue of the quarterly magazine of Education International Working for Lesbian and Gay Members, EI/PSI joint publication, now also available in French and Spanish. Carta Informativa and Apuntes are two publications prepared by the EI Regional Office for Latin America. The quarterly Carta Informativa, dated November 2000, focuses on WTD, on the Labour Code reform in Argentina and on the political, social and moral crisis in Peru. Apuntes (Notes) is a brand new four-pages newsletter on education and teachers' rights in Latin America. Only available in Spanish from the Costa Rica regional office: tel +506 280 9667 and e-mail: educint@sol.racsa.co.cr