By Tiffany Vermeylen
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Around 400 teachers and students from EU schools in Brussels went on strike for half a day on Wednesday to protest against employment conditions for locally hired teachers, including the absence of union representation and a teachers’ pension plan.
European Union (EU) schools serve about 28,000 children of EU institution staff and diplomats, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen among their alumni.
About half the teaching staff are provided by EU member states and the rest – the segment for whom the strike was staged – are hired locally, paid less and not protected under EU law.
“We lack official teacher status, a teachers’ pension, and the right to unionize”, said Belgian Social Sciences teacher Lucile Henry.
“It’s embarrassing”, she added.
Protesters – who included parents — want a legal framework to be put in place for union delegation, which would allow teachers to organize and defend their rights.
Andreas Beckmann, Secretary-General of EU schools, said in a statement that many of the requests could be easily translated into concrete proposals and that there already is “a well-established social dialogue with elected staff representations”.
Tom Holvoet, union secretary of the Christian trade union ACV Puls, said that the formation of an actual union would be a first step to improving the situation of locally-hired teachers.
A final full-day strike is scheduled for April 1st.
(Reporting by Tiffany Vermeylen, Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout, William Maclean)
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