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Upfront International

Education International:
Making schools into safe havens

Education International (EI) has launched a declaration on schools as safe sanctuaries. Acid attacks on Afghan girls, drive-by shootings of Colombian teachers, assassination of Iraqi academics and students, and arson attacks in schools in Thailand are only a few examples of the violent political and military attacks on education throughout the world.

The declaration that ‘Schools shall be Safe Sanctuaries’ voices the collective demand by teachers and their unions that education should be protected in times of conflict, and schools should be respected as zones of peace where children, youths and adults can build healthy communities.

Attacks on education take many appalling forms: bombing and burning of schools; illegal detention; disappearance, torture and assassination of teachers and union officials; abduction for extortion or forced recruitment of child soldiers; or rape by armed forces.

EI’s declaration contains seven demands articulating a call to action from the world community. View the full text at www.ei-ie.org/healthandsafety/en and click on ’EI launches Declaration on Schools as Safe Sanctuaries’, under Related news.

PICTURE: Schoolchildren in Africa.


Ireland:
Fighting public sector pay cuts

Irish trade unionists are up in arms over what the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has called “the most right-wing budget ever”. ICTU general secretary David Begg believes the budget will deepen the recession and rejected it as “brutal and without compassion” – and he believes the worst is yet to come.

Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan said in his budget speech on 9 December that from 1 January public sector staff salaries would be cut by 5 per cent on the first €30,000 of salary, by 7.5 per cent on the next €40,000 and 10 per cent on the €55,000 after that. Those earning €165,000 to €200,000 would see cuts of 12 per cent, with cuts of 15 per cent for those earning over €200,000.

The Civil and Public Services Union (CPSU) said the budget left them with no choice but to engage in industrial action. Pre-budget talks between the government and public sector unions had broken down on the issue of unpaid leave.

Under the unpaid leave plan put forward by unions, public sector workers would have agreed to take 12 days of unpaid leave next year and would then come up with a separate proposal to cover 2011.

The unpaid leave deal would have meant public service staff earning €50,000 having 4.6 per cent of their income deducted next year; for workers earning more than this the cut would have been equivalent to as much as 7 per cent of income.

ICTU president Jack O’Connor said the 2010 budget was “the most callous” budget announced by any minister for finance since the thirties and was a “merciless attack on working people and the most vulnerable in our society”.

The general secretaries and presidents of the four teaching unions announced that any further talks with government were over. They are determined to reflect teachers’ anger at the salary cuts and changes to pensions through a sustained campaign of opposition.


Thailand:
Help students learn English

Steve Graham, an English language teacher at Udon Thani Rajabhat university in north eastern Thailand, is running a project with potential for enhancing his students’ English language skills via link-ups with students in the UK.

The students are studying to be English teachers but Steve says their English language skills are not good and they would benefit from contact with native English users. This would involve using Flickr, the internet networking service, to allow students from both countries to post photographs and videos, writing descriptions about them. Other students would visit and post comments.

This would give both institutions the chance to expose their students to different cultures, and would add a new dimension to a project which has been running since the beginning of 2008, involving universities from Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines and Hong Kong, as well as Thailand. Details can be found at www.steves-english-zone.com/flickr.html.

Any schools or colleges interested in this idea can contact Steve via email at steve@steves-english-zone.com.


Colombia:
Defend teacher trade unionists

Colombian trade unionists, teachers in particular, face great danger under that country’s regime.

Around half of all the trade union leaders and activists killed each year are members of Fecode – the Colombian teachers’ trade union.

Colombia has long been a priority area for the NUT’s international work and members are asked to consider supporting the work of Justice for Colombia. For more information visit: www.justice forcolombia.org.