3rd October – International Day of the World Federation of Trade Unions, WFTU
4th October – International day of the World Federation of Teachers’ Unions, FISE
5th October – World Teachers’ Day established by UNESCO
Three days in October in a row that gives us the opportunity to take action and promote their demands. Three days when the trade union movement and education must honour, promote and teach powerfully that education is not a commodity, it must be a social good and offered to all humanity, equally and free of charge.
The war that tends to become generalized, the difficult reality both in the field of education and in what is related to our daily quality of life, the working rights of the majority of workers who are affected worldwide, require from all of us, an increased and daily class struggle.
On the occasion of our celebratory day, the World Federation of Teachers Unions, FISE, a member of WFTU, calls on all teachers, in all trade unions related to education, to organize and strengthen their anti-war action. Not colourlessly and generally, but specifically. The murderous bombs that massacre peoples and take away valuable means but also money from education, from our daily needs for health, care, etc. serve purposes related to the imperialist oppositions and the profits of multinationals. The exorbitant war expenditures bring people to their knees.
At the same time capitalist governments have turned education into a dubious quality and very expensive commodity and adapt its content and training programs to the needs of multinationals, monopolies and NATO. The new model of education is the modern subjugated and intimidated worker who will live only to multiply the profits of the capitalists and serve their interests.
Low teacher salaries, school mergers, inadequate schools and universities, teacher shortages, privatisation, layoffs, flexible working relationships, lack of permanent jobs are some of the problems affecting teachers’ sector. Competitiveness, entrepreneurship, falsification of history, fragmentation and disjointed models of education make education hostile to the interests of the working class. That is why the issue of education is an issue for the entire working class. It is necessary to create everywhere a front of workers in education, parents and all popular strata for the education that our class is entitled to.
It is a necessity for all of us to become more militant, more organized. To take more initiatives against the murderous government of ISRAEL and their imperialist allies. To strengthen the WFTU, the FISE. We urgently need to organize our 20th regular world congress. To overcome the difficulties that we have. Teachers at all levels from kindergarten to university must teach and be at the forefront of the struggle to end the exploitation of man by man.
To match our word with our example
Until the new generation brings the true light into the lives of all of us…
THE SECRETARIAT
