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During the last board meeting of the Francophone Union Committee for Education and Training (CSFEF), discussions shed light on the common challenges unions in different countries have been facing, as well as their achievements and initiatives to defend union rights and improve public education. The meeting was also an opportunity for the French-speaking education unions who are members of Education International to strengthen their ties and plan joint action.

Francophone unions are committed to defending trade union rights

During the annual in-person CSFEF board meeting, held in Casablanca from April 23rd to April 25th, board members reported on the state of union rights and on the actions that unions had taken in support of education in their countries. This revealed common trends.

Across the world, unions are not being listened to. Often commitments are made but not implemented. There have been serious attacks on union rights, such as in Benin, where the right to strike is now severely limited, or in Mali, where power remains in the hands of the military.

Nonetheless, unions continue to work and make progress possible, such as in Morocco or Romania last year, after large scale mobilisations, or in Quebec, following tough negotiations. In France, the constant change of ministers, due to political instability, contributes to the weakening of social dialogue, whereas in Burundi, social dialogue is a balancing act for unions who are resolutely committed to being constructive.

Privatisation: a tide that must be stemmed

The members of the CSFEF board expressed full support for Education International’s Go public! Fund Education campaign. In fact, in many of their countries, private education is now well established and is considered to be a vital complement to a defective public sector.

In Casablanca, for example, the number of private schools now outnumbers that of public schools. “In private schools, teachers are assessed by students primarily based on how nice they are and not on their competence”, warned Fatima Zohra Sghiyar, member of the national bureau of the National Teaching Union – Democratic Labour Confederation of Morocco. “There is the same trend in higher education, where private universities are gaining ground and getting more and more organised”, noted Abdelaziz Sahibed-Dine, Deputy General Secretary of the National Higher Education Union of Morocco.

Solidarity is central to actions undertaken by the CSFEF

Following the adoption of a strategic plan during the CSFEF congress in Buenos Aires in July 2024, a clear action plan was adopted in Casablanca with the aim to scale-up all activities in the next three years, before the next in-person congress in 2028.

Luc Beauregard, Secretary-Treasurer of the Centrale de Syndicats du Québec (CSQ) and CSFEF General Secretary, welcomed this approach: “I think the CSFEF has given itself an ambitious yet achievable action plan which, I hope, will increase this committee’s ability to influence those involved in francophone education and training”.

Thus, at least one webinar a year will be dedicated to women unionists, so they can share the obstacles they face during their activism and give suggestions on how to overcome them. The CSFEF also aims to raise its profile by strengthening communication on social networks and on its website.

The CSFEF wants to boost solidarity between francophone unions, through formalised cooperation programmes but also by encouraging bilateral South-South cooperation and by encouraging discussion groups that bring together all French-speaking union activists.

Despite the current downward trend in funding for international cooperation, the CSFEF is not giving up, stressed Jokebed Djikoloum Mougalbaye, member of the executive board of the Chad Teachers’ Union and vice-CSFEF chair: “I urge the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, of which the CSFEF has been an accredited non-governmental international organisation for 25 years, to renew its funding so that French continues to be a language of union action and discussions, of solidarity and peace”.

Within the CSFEF, Education International’s French-speaking members will continue to find a unique and valuable space to exchange ideas, as well as opportunities to collaborate in order to overcome common challenges and achieve quality education for all.