14 Jan. () –
More than 20,000 teachers and education professionals, according to the organizers, demonstrated this Saturday in Lisbon in a protest in defense of public education and against the recent proposals to modify professional competitions.
The march has been called by the Union of All Education Professionals (STOP), an organization with hundreds of affiliates, and banners with slogans such as “Goodbye to the Minister” or in defense of dignity have been seen. profession or public school, reports the newspaper ‘Diário de Notícias’.
The march began in the Marqués de Pombal square and ended in the Comercio square, in the center of the Portuguese capital, to the rhythm of drums and horns.
The national STOP coordinator, André Pestana, explained in statements to the Lusa news agency that the teachers’ struggle also brings together non-teaching staff who also demand a “quality and excellence public school”.
This protest has been fueled by statements by the Minister of Education, Joao Costa, who on Friday expressed his concern about the “disproportionality” of the STOP strike and his intention to resort to minimal services.
“Minister, listen, the school is in a fight”, “No to municipalization” or “United for education” have been some of the slogans chanted by the attendees, who demand labor improvements such as the reduction of precariousness.
STOP began an indefinite strike on December 7, which has been joined by teachers and labor personnel from Portuguese public schools, even with lockdowns in the schools themselves.
The triggering reason for the strike has been the modification of the teacher selection and hiring process and after the Government opened the door to the participation of the school management in the selection of teachers. They also ask for better wages.
