The Minister of Education wrote a letter to non-teaching staff acknowledging that they are “essential to the proper functioning” of schools, in the week in which they announced a national strike for better working conditions and salaries.
The Minister of Education, Science and Innovation (MECI) Fernando Alexandre wrote to school technicians, assistants and auxiliaries, stressing that they carry out work that is “essential for the proper functioning of schools and for the educational process to function to its full potential”.
At the start of another school year for around 1,3 million students from 1st to 12th grade, Fernando Alexandre recognises that these workers are “often the first line of support for students”: “it is with you that students open up”.
However, he argues, “there is no quality public education network without valued and motivated non-teaching staff.”
The minister believes that the work of these professionals “has not received recognition”, and for this reason the ministry decided to start working with the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities and with trade union representatives.
The objective of these meetings, he adds, is to evaluate “the implementation of the decentralization process”, “improve your working conditions” and the framework of functions.
On Thursday, unions announced a national strike in schools on October 4, which “could still be stopped by the Minister of Education”, according to the National Federation of Unions of Workers in Public and Social Functions.
At issue is the precarious situation of thousands of workers, who earn “little more than the minimum wage”, said trade unionist Artur Sequeira, explaining that among the demands is the creation of special careers and the possibility of retiring early without penalties.
The creation of a new ordinance on employee ratios that increases the number of employees in schools is another demand made by the unions, who warn of the danger for children in schools where there are few assistants.
Lusa asked the MECI office today whether it will schedule or meet with the unions before the national strike on October 4, whether it is considering creating special careers, reviewing ratios and increasing the number of employees in schools, but has not yet received any response.
As has happened in recent years, the return to school is once again marked by a lack of teachers, especially in the Lisbon metropolitan area and in the Algarve, with it being estimated that thousands of students no longer have all of their assigned teachers.
Comments