European Trade Union Committee for Education

The COVID 19 outbreak is a public health crisis quite different than anything Europe has faced for many years. As education personnel and their trade unions grapple with the outbreak, we are supporting and informing member organisations in any way we can.

• Long COVID-19: What challenges for education trade unions across Europe?
• ETUCE study on Education Trade Unions in Europe facing COVID-19 Omicron Variant
• Well-being of academics and researchers in the Netherlands: who did COVID-19 affect the most?
• Belgium: Education is essential! Truly?
• Education and Training Monitor 2021 sheds light on well-being during COVID-19
• Gender segregation in education: setback to achieving gender equality in EU
• Latvia: the impact of the pandemic on teachers is extremely worrying
• Education trade unions building capacity for renewal beyond COVID-19
• French study: the psychosocial impact of COVID-19 on researchers
• Romania: Success in the negotiations for a vaccination agreement
• UK Study found stress and anxiety of academics above national average during COVID-19 pandemic
• New OECD data outlines the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the teaching profession
• Transmission of COVID-19 in education: the scenario for the next school year
• New NEU information tool to encourage critical-thinking on COVID-19 vaccines
• Hungarian teachers’ opinion on the reopening of schools

As in many countries, Romania’s education workers are adapting fast to support their students and communities during the COVID-19 outbreak. But it is important that these professionals also protect their own wellbeing, including their mental health, during this period of change, stress and increased workload. ETUCE member organisation FSLI is working with psychologists to offer free counselling to teachers, students and parents.

With schools in Romania closed to limit the spread of COVID-19, education staff are being expected to switch to distance teaching through online tools. The Ministry of Education is providing training on how to use these tools, but this sudden profound shift in methodology is a real challenge. Moreover, the training is time-consuming, and these new methods require a great deal of preparation. The result is that many teachers are working significantly more hours than normal, during a period of national crisis where they are also dealing with the personal pressures of confinement at home.

FSLI is supporting members by facilitating their access to free professional counselling, offered by the Proacta EDU Association and its network of qualified psychologists and psychotherapists. The trade union is using its ability to reach the membership to ensure that teachers and school communities find out about this offer and know who they can reach out to for help. As the COVID-19 crisis continues, the psychosocial risks of isolation, working from home and the rapid adjustment of paedogogical practice will surely come into focus. Initiatives like this show education trade unions are already taking this seriously and striving to provide their members vital support.

The ETUCE Secretariat sends solidarity to all teachers, academics and other education personnel and their education trade unions as they react to and tackle this unprecedented crisis. We invite ETUCE member organisations to inform the ETUCE Secretariat about the challenges you face, how you are responding, which good practices you have developed and can share with colleagues, as well as your needs for support from the ETUCE family. Contact ETUCE at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..