'One system of powers and one collective labor agreement for entire education'
Ministers Ingrid van Engelshoven and Arie Slob want to design a new system of powers for education as a whole. Teachers from all sectors should also be covered by one collective labor agreement. The AOb finds it especially important that the voice of teachers is heard in these plans, says chairman Liesbeth Verheggen. "We will in any case discuss this extensively with our members from all sectors."
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The current teaching powers are 'complex and rigid', both ministers wrote to the House of Representatives today. Examples of this are 'inflexible divisions between sectors' and a 'strong subject orientation' in secondary education. 'As a result, the career step to another subject or another sector within education is sometimes too big.'
The ministers are thinking of introducing a broad basic qualification for all teachers, with specializations on top of that that can be combined. 'It will then be possible, for example, to opt for breadth - such as a competence for one target group, across subjects. Or for the depth: a specialist competence for several target groups.'
Education Board
With this proposal, both ministers elaborate on the advice Make way for teachers of the Education Council, which also revolves around a broad competence and specializations. According to the ministers, the new powers regulation will contribute to the appeal of the profession, also for lateral entrants.
Our own survey shows that the AObmembers are not waiting for one broad authority for education
De AOb expects the plans to be critically received by the current profession. “Out of its own investigation it appears that teachers are not interested in broad competence for the entire education system ”, says Liesbeth Verheggen of the AOb. “Few primary school teachers have the greatest wish to switch to - say - MBO. Or vice versa. ”
Discussie
According to Verheggen, the new structure of powers is primarily a solution for employers, who can then deploy their staff more flexibly. Anyway: "We would like to initiate the substantive discussion," says Verheggen, "and we assume that the voice of the professional group will weigh heavily in the coming discussion."
The design of the new system should be ready by the end of 2020. Verheggen: “This is far too short a day in our opinion. Really give teachers a position when it comes to the attractiveness of their own profession. ”
CLA
The ministers also propose bringing education staff in all sectors under a single collective labor agreement – as the Education Council has already proposed. 'Using a single wage structure would create more mobility, and this contributes to the attractiveness of working in education,' say the ministers.
According to the ministers, one of the problems of the current separate collective labor agreements would be that 'teachers in primary education are dissatisfied with their career prospects'. 'We consider the recommendations of the Education Council on the pay and job classification system as penetrating advice to the social partners.'
Challenge
De AOb finds it quite a challenge to arrive at one wage structure. “And that does cost money,” says Verheggen. “We already have a pay gap between primary and secondary education, which we have long believed cannot be defended. For the time being, we don't see a millimeter of movement at the cabinet to invest further in that. ”
