European Trade Union Committee for Education

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At the ETUCE Regional Conference, that took place online these 2 and 3 December 2020, member Organisations across the European region gathered virtually, discussed and took important decisions to represent the realities and challenges of more than 11 million teachers and other education personnel. The European Education Trade Union movement adopted a new resolution on “Campaigning to enhance the Teaching Profession for Solidarity, Democracy, Equality and Sustainability” and over 260 education trade union delegates from 127 national education trade unions at all levels of education from 51 European countries debated and voted on a new Work Programme 2021-2024 to face the challenges teachers and other education personnel are confronted with in these difficult times of global crisis. 

Renewing their call for increasing public investment, effective social dialogue, as well as teachers’ and education personnel’s professional rights and fair working conditions, delegates adopted the Resolution on Campaigning to enhance the Teaching Profession for Solidarity, Democracy Equality and Sustainability 

ETUCE Conference also made amendments to the ETUCE By-Laws. 

“The pandemic has in so many places pointed up and exacerbated inequality. Poverty, lack of family resources has always played into difficulties with education, but the pandemic has widened the gap between the haves and the have nots to a chasm. This, colleagues, is why we must pursue equality and social justice. And this, colleagues, is why we are trade unionists”, declared former ETUCE President Christine Blower. 

Education trade union leaders from across Europe elected a new leadership team for the next four years leading the work of a new ETUCE Committee. 

The new ETUCE Bureau is composed of: 

Larry Flanagan (EIS, Scotland), ETUCE President 

Odile Cordelier (SNES-FSU, France), ETUCE Vice-President 

Andreas Keller (GEW, Germany), ETUCE Vice-President 

Dorte Lange (DLF, Denmark), ETUCE Vice-President 

Trudy Kerperien (AOb, the Netherlands), ETUCE Vice-President 

Galina Merkulova (ESEUR, Russian Federation), ETUCE Vice-President 

Branimir Štrukelj (ESTUS, Slovenia), ETUCE Vice-President 

You will find all the interviews of the new leadership here.

The ETUCE Committee elected Joan Donegan (IFUT, Ireland) to the position of ETUCE Treasurer. 

The new leaders took up their posts immediately following the Conference.  

On the announcement of the newly elected Committee members, Susan Flocken, the European Director thanked the colleagues who had been engaged in the past years, in particular Christine Blower, NEU UK in her function as ETUCE President, Gitta Franke-Zöllmer, VBE Germany in her function as President of the Status of Women Committee and Mike Jennings, IFUT Ireland as ETUCE Treasurer.