KTÖS and KTOEÖS: We will not give back our rights
Published:
On 2 August 2022, KTÖS and KTOEÖS, together with their affiliates, gathered in front of the Ministry of Education in Nicosia in the joint protest action "we will not give back our rights".
The joint action was held in response to the Ministry of Education’s attempt to infringe consultation processes and avert anti-democratic and unilateral policy -making practices in the northern part of Cyprus.
The leadership of KTÖS and KTOEÖS informed that the Ministry of Education was intending to launch a public teacher training system in the private sector by amending the special qualifications’ system of future primary and preschool teachers, which would lead to an increase in teaching hours.
Indeed, in the first week of July, the Ministry of Education had convened a technical committee meeting to discuss amendments to the teachers' law, without engaging a consultation with the unions, nor complying with the meeting procedures nor providing any kind of justification for the changes to be made Moreover, the Ministry of Education, had planned to hold the High Advisory Board on 2 August 2022, and to send the amended draft to the Council of Ministers. However, when faced with the resistance from the teachers, the Ministry stated that it would negotiate proposals to the amendments and include demands from the education trade unions”, reported KTÖS and KTOEÖS,”.
Expressing her solidarity with the unions’ call for more transparency in the process, better consultation, and involvement of trade unions, ETUCE European Director, Susan Flocken recalls that an open and peaceful dialogue should at all times be at the centre of both policy and decision-making processes, to ensure that the outcomes actually serve the interests and needs of those who are to implement the changes on the ground. Including demands from the education trade unions and negotiating proposals is a crucial step. ETUCE will be following the further developments on this issue.
