Joint ETUCE-ILO conference to ensure decent future of work for education employees
Published:
On 13-14 October 2022, the joint Conference on “Fundamental labour rights and the objectives of international trade union movement to ensure a decent future of work for education sector employees” took place in Astana, Kazakhstan, in cooperation with the ILO Bureau for Eastern Europe and Central Asia and hosted by the ETUCE member organisation the Kazakhstan branch Trade Union of Education and Science Workers. During the first day of the event, representatives from the education trade unions in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan as well as the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan discussed the key challenges to freedom of association, social dialogue in the context of multiple crises at national levels.
Joined by the First Vice-minister of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Ms Karinova, representative from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Mr Amirbekuly, and Ms Assylova, Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan, emphasised that the core question of protecting and defending labor rights of workers will always remain high on the political agenda.
During the discussion on the status and future of the teaching profession and against the background of the forthcoming ETUCE campaign on the attractiveness of the profession, Larry Flanagan, President of the European Trade Union Committee for Education underlined: “ In the context of the severe teacher shortage and the impact of the different global crises on the education sector ETUCE is engaging in campaigning to raise the status of teachers and for the attractiveness of the teaching profession along ten key action points because quality education matters and requires highly qualified and valued staff”.
A comprehensive report on the ILO Recommendation – R205 - Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience Recommendation made by Gocha Aleksandria, Senior Specialist in Workers’ Activities ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team and Country Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, further enriched discussions of the second day of the event providing, among other things, education trade unions from the countries that usually experience huge emigration of workers for economic reasons with the important insights on their now new role of hosting refugees and displaced people.
While concluding the work of the second day of the conference dedicated to, amongst others, the critical issues of recovery and resilience Susan Flocken, ETUCE European Director said: “For a sustainable recovery and resilient education systems that prepare young people for their future taking into account the multiple crises and changes our society is undergoing, we require well prepared teachers who receive decent pay and working conditions. In ETUCE we call for more public investment in education and a strong social partnership to ensure equal access to education for all students regardless of their socio-economic background”.
