Following devastating earthquakes in eastern Turkey last November, EI and its member affiliates are giving support to help the region’s recovery. The earthquake killed 600, amongst them 75 teachers. EI’s affiliate in the country, Egitim Sen, is leading the efforts to assist earthquake victims locally, helped by donations from EI and one of its member affiliates in Germany, GEW.
EI has launched a campaign to urge the Bahraini authorities to immediately release on bail Mahdi 'Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb, President of the Bahraini Teachers Association (BTA), given his deteriorating health condition. This campaign is organised in partnership with LabourStart, an online news service aiming to serve the international trade union movement by collecting and disseminating information.
During her visit to Finland, from 25-28 January, EI President Susan Hopgood addressed around 14,000 teachers at the international seminar, “Finland – World’s Most Skilled Nation 2020?” organised by one of EI’s national affiliates, the Opetusalan Ammattijärjestö (OAJ). She welcomed the fact that Finland is acknowledged around the world for its successful public education system, quality teachers, and students’ high performance in international tests. She noted this is largely due to national commitment and investment in quality education.
One of EI’s affiliates in Germany, the Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft (GEW), together with unions inside the German Trade Union Federation (DGB), has taken a strong stance on the crisis in Europe, calling for a clear signal for a change of policy.
Education International is the voice of the teachers and other education employees across the globe. A global federation of about 400 unions in more than 170 countries and territories, it represents 30 million teachers and education employees in education institutions from early childhood to university.
