European Trade Union Committee for Education

Social dialogue, collective bargaining and agreements and collegial governance are essential in order to ensure sustainable quality employment, decent working conditions, promising career prospects and rewarding incentives such as fair pay for the staff.

Social dialogue is at the core of the European social model, flanked by the European Pillar of Social Rights and reflects the fundamental values of the European Union. It is an important tool for promoting economic and social stability and helps ensure that workers have a voice in employment issues.

As employees, it is essential that teachers are supported by their trade union. Education trade unions have a dual role to fulfil in addressing both working conditions and professional issues in social dialogue.

Social dialogue, collective bargaining, and agreements are necessary for ensuring sustainable quality employment and decent working conditions for education staff. Education trade unions have a crucial role in improving social dialogue and collective bargaining, information sharing, communication, consultation, and most importantly, ensuring the rights of their members. By strengthening social dialogue, we can improve the status of teachers, trainers, academics, and other education personnel and the image of the teaching profession in society.

While many education issues are addressed at the national level, the European Union also has a variety of programmes and policies in place to foster quality education. At EU level, ETUCE, the European trade union committee for education, and EFEE, the European Federation of Education Employers, are recognised social partners and as such co-legislators for education, that promote social dialogue in the education sector. Strong and meaningful social dialogue at all levels – European, national, regional and local – is essential.