Francophone teachers' unions call for strike on 27 and 28 January

French-speaking teachers’ unions are calling for a two-day strike at the end of January to protest against the savings and reforms planned by the MR/Les Engagés government in Wallonia.

The strike is scheduled for Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 January, according to Roland Lahaye, secretary general of the CSC-Enseignement union.

It will also be marked by a demonstration starting at 11.00 on 27 January in the streets of Brussels, while the strike day on 28 January will be characterised by local actions.

Unions are also planning other awareness-raising actions throughout January. For example, the first week of the new school year will focus on the savings recently made by the government in vocational education.

“The aim of this action will be to make visible the job losses that these cuts will entail in the qualifications sector,” Lahaye said.

The following week will be used by the unions to emphasise the need to preserve the current contract status of teachers, which the government wants to reform.

Unions already organised a first day of strike action on 26 November, which was fairly successful in schools in Wallonia and Brussels.

Lahaye said there was an "enormous amount of anger" in schools, which has come from the teachers themselves, and not at the instigation of the unions.

This unease, he said, was already latent under the previous legislature but has been further reinforced by the measures announced by the new majority in the Walloon government.