All teachers and education support personnel have the right to organise and be part of a union that represents and defends their values and interests. However, around the world, education unions are facing serious attacks and operate in increasingly challenging and hostile environments. Revitalising unions, building their power by boosting membership and active participation and maximising impact is the way forward.
Education International has launched an urgent action appeal encouraging the global community of educators and activists to express outrage at the death threats received by the General Secretary of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers Raymond Basilio, and at the unlawful profiling of ACT members by the authorities.
Philippines: Teacher unionists threatened
Life-long learning means different things to different people. However, some common principles for lifelong learning are essential for a global consensus on a human-centred agenda for the future of work.
Work with a human face, by David Edwards
As talks with the government failed to reach an agreement, Zimbabwean teachers are striking to press their government to pay their salaries with U.S. dollars.
Zimbabwe: teachers strike over pay as currency crisis deepens
After the failed coup attempt on 15th of July, 2016, in Turkey, a state of emergency was declared on the 20th of July. The state of emergency was used to attack all opposition groups. This power grab was used to obtain further power as the Government issued decrees which enabled...
#UDHR70 - “Teachers must feel safe for educating free generations”, by Özgür Bozdogan
On the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it seems inevitable that we ask ourselves whether in the ensuing time we have succeeded in advancing its goals, or whether those principles have ended up being nothing more than a well-intentioned, but ultimately futile statement of a humanistic...
#UDHR70 – “A banner of struggle for humanity”, by Yamile Socolovsky
My name is Sajjad, I was born in October 1982 in Ahvaz in Southwest Iran.
#UDHR70 – “From activism to exile: growing up as the son of a leading Iranian trade union activist”, by Sajjad Khaksari
On International Migrants Day, Education International reaffirms its commitment to defend and promote the rights of migrant workers and refugees as well as migrant and refugee teachers and education personnel.
Education International calls on governments to improve protection for migrants
Still active after more than two decades of struggle for the socio-professional rights of Burundi’s teachers, the Syndicat des Travailleurs de l’Enseignement du Burundi (STEB) is slowly recovering from the social crisis that shook the country. With the support of leaders who are committed to reverse the current situation, teachers...
#UDHR70 - "In Burundi the union is standing firm in its struggle for teachers’ rights", by Rémy Nsengiyumva.
2018 is the 25th anniversary of the creation of Education International. As this anniversary year draws to a close, we are publishing an interview of Fred van Leeuwen who served the organization as General Secretary of EI for its first quarter century. This discussion offers a reflection on the substantial...
#EI25: “Trade unionism, the teaching profession, and democracy”, interview of EI General Secretary Emeritus Fred van Leeuwen
Human rights are an on-going issue for the education sector in the Central African Republic. These issues concern both the status of the teaching staff and the quality of the infrastructure and teaching methods.
#UDHR70 - "Education in a country in conflict", by Etienne-Paulin Songoli
On December 10, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in his speech to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Human Rights Day: "Among countries that went through colonial rule, dictatorship, and war, there are few countries that have the level of South Korean human rights." He added, “there is still a...
#UDHR70 - “Trade Union Rights are Human Rights: South Korean Teachers Deprived of Union Representation”, by Hyunsu Hwang
The right to work is one of the basic human rights. From this follows the right to defend and improve your working conditions, a task which is carried out by trade unions through the right to "associate" and join workers' organisations. In the 70th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration...
#UDHR70 – “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: its respect is not automatic”, by Augustin Tumba Nzuji
The Bahrain Teachers’ Association (BTA) was established in October 2001 after a long journey of teachers’ struggles to obtain their representative body. It was founded after the King Hamad presented a package of reforms, including allowing associations representing professionals in the public sector to exist, even though unions are still...
#UDHR70 - “Our struggle in Bahrain … Might be yours”, by Jalila Al-Salman
In his book “Mein Kampf”, Hitler said "If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed". The dictator Yahya Jammeh knew how to terrorize the masses through threats and cajoling. When he said "Gambia will become an economic superpower by 2012", almost everyone...
#UDHR70 – “A Struggle to Survive and Thrive Under a Dictatorship”, by Marie Antoinette Corr
In an election with increased participation, French teachers and education support staff have democratically elected, with stable scores for the unions, for a term of four years, their representatives from the trade unions to various bodies linked to education during the 2018 professional elections.
France: newly elected representatives will carry the voices of teachers and education support staff
On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the time has come for me to look back over more than 30 years of personal commitment to national education in my country, and more than 20 years of trade union activism within the Syndicat des...
#UDHR70 - “Teacher trade unionism in Djibouti: verdict of a life of sacrifice”, by Ahmed-Kadar Nour Ismail
Education is a human right and those who defend it should be protected and supported, says David Edwards, Education International General Secretary.
On Human Rights day, it is time to reflect, stand up, speak out and act
The 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights is an occasion to be inspired by its principles and its origin. It is an opportunity for trade unionists and educators to reflect on its values and the aspirations it represents and to stand up, speak out and act. It...
#UDHR70 - "On Dignity: Reflections on the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights", by David Edwards