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

Romanian education trade unions successfully defended education personnel against a unilateral governmental decision threatening the health, safety and working conditions of teachers and other education personnel. Indeed, as the Romanian government unilaterally decided that teachers must administer a COVID-19 saliva tests on all their students, twice per week, education trade unions strongly opposed this measure and took decisive actions through an online protest. The action resulted in thousands of education personnel submitting online petitions to the Minister of Health, managing to temporarily block the ministry’s server.

Romanian education trade unions called on the Ministry of education to withdraw the decision by raising several arguments:

• Considering that Romania has schools with up to 2500 students, the testing would be extremely time-consuming to the detriment of education activities.
• Teachers are not medical professionals trained in the administering of tests and handling of medical waste.
• Apart from the inherent danger of the practice, it is absolutely inappropriate as large-scale medical tasks are not part of teachers contracts or training.
• Teachers are often not provided with personal protective equipment, exposing them to great danger when performing tests.
• The combination of canteen closures and the requirement to not drink water for one hour prior to the testing implicitly forces students to fast throughout the school day.

The collective and organised effort proved fruitful, as education trade unions managed on 18 and 19 November 2021 to achieve decisions with the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health on measures that are more practicable.

Following a round of tough negotiations, it has been decided that the COVID-19 tests will be performed at home by the parents, with the testing material and instructions handed out by an appointed teacher. The testing will be performed twice a week, and parents will inform the teacher about each positive or negative result. Furthermore, all schools in Romania can remain open if at least 60% of employees are vaccinated or if the level of contamination in the local region is below three infections per thousand inhabitants.

Commenting on this, ETUCE European Director, Susan Flocked said "This success story reveals once again three fundamental truths about the pandemic response in the education sector. Firstly, governmental decision-making is still informed by a strong disconnection between theory and practice. Secondly, lacking consultation with education trade unions inevitably leads to inefficient and unsustainable solutions. And lastly, well organised collective action does make a decisive difference. ETUCE will therefore continue to stand with its member organisations and continue advocating for decent working conditions and protection of health and safety of teachers and other education personnel across the European region."