Teachers announce national mobilization against the increase in teaching standards

The Federation of Free Trade Unions in Education (FSLI) has announced the resumption of protests starting next week, in the context of the implementation of the measure regarding the increase in teaching standards. According to union leader Simion Hăncescu, this measure, part of the 1st Reform Plan, has a devastating impact on human resources in education, but brings an insignificant budgetary saving of only 0.2% of GDP. "It is a disaster and I am not using big words. Teachers will be restricted in their activities because they cannot be provided with 20 hours in the school where they are teachers,” Hăncescu declared after a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Dragoş Anastasiu.

• 15,000 jobs at risk, including tenured ones

Trade unionists estimate that, as a result of this measure, approximately 15,000 teaching positions will be lost, of which at least 10,000 belong to tenured teachers. They risk either a reduction in salaries or forced relocation to other localities, which, in practice, would mean higher commuting costs than the additional income obtained for the two extra hours. "The Minister of Education recommended that teachers commute to where there are classes. It is absurd. The costs exceed the benefits, and the free hours are not where they are needed,” stressed the FSLI leader.

• Protests across the country: "We start from the first day of school”

In the absence of a clear response from the Government, FSLI announced a calendar of protests. These include: Local protests starting next week; A national protest on September 8; A grand protest on the very first day of school, with the participation of over 30,000 people, according to union estimates.

"We will consult union members after September 1st and it is not excluded that the start of the school year will be blocked. The dissatisfaction is immense, and the system is boiling," said Hăncescu.

• Union members demand a one-year postponement

FSLI demands a postponement of at least one year of the application of the new teaching norm, warning that the rush to implement it will generate chaos in schools, massive restructuring and a generalized demotivation of teachers. According to the union leader, the 30,000 hourly-paid positions invoked by the ministry do not correspond to the reality on the ground: "There are hours dispersed in other schools, in other localities. There are no real hours available for the affected holders."

In the context of budgetary reforms and adjustments promised to the European Commission, the education system finds itself, once again, in the middle of a personnel crisis. Trade unionists warn that the mechanical application of measures without a concrete analysis of the local impact will lead not only to job losses, but also to a blockage in the functioning of the school system.

"The culture of social dialogue was completely absent in this case. We are asking for a rational decision, not an accounting one. The school is not Excel, it is a community,” concluded Hăncescu.