Teaching unions are calling on their members to carry out a two-day strike at the end of January in protest against budget cuts and planned reforms in the education sector by the MR-Engagés government.
The strike is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, 27 and 28 January, according to Roland Lahaye, the General Secretary of CSC-Enseignement. A demonstration will take place in the streets of Brussels starting at 11:00 on 27 January. Local actions will take place on 28 January.
Unions plan to raise awareness with various actions throughout January. The first week back in January will focus on the recent budget cuts affecting vocational education. “This action highlights the job losses that these cuts will cause in vocational education,” Lahaye stated.
The following week, unions will focus on the importance of preserving the current status of teachers, which the government plans to replace with permanent contracts.
The teaching unions had previously organised a strike on 26 November, which saw significant participation in schools across Wallonia and Brussels.
Lahaye noted that there is a “huge anger” within the educational community which motivated the call to strike, rather than the unions encouraging members to take action. He emphasised that this discontent was also present during the previous legislature but has grown with the new measures announced by the current majority in power in the French Community of Belgium.
