PO-front continues to campaign
After a disappointing coalition agreement, the PO front is already continuing joint campaigns for more salary and less workload in November and December.
That was decided last night after consultation between the participating parties PO in Actie, trade unions AOb, CNV Onderwijs, FNV Overheid and FvOv, school leaders' association AVS and employers' organization PO-raad.
Next Tuesday, a delegation from the primary education front will talk to education minister Arie Slob. In it, the new minister will receive an ultimatum: no later than the week of 5 December - when the House of Representatives is likely to discuss the OCW budget - the primary education front wants to know how Slob will meet the requirements of primary education, with a total amount of money. is involved of 1,4 billion euros. Of this, 900 million euros is intended for salaries and 500 million euros for workload relief.
Meet-up on November 29
Before that, at the invitation of the primary education front, Minister Slob will talk to teachers, educational supporters, school leaders and school administrators. They will exchange ideas in public about the problems caused by the high workload and the low salary in primary education. This public meet-up is scheduled for Wednesday, November 29. Time and place will follow. A spacious hall is being sought. The PO front will provide a live stream so that everyone can follow the session and the conversation can be joined in every staff room in primary schools.
No later than the week of 5 December - when the House of Representatives is likely to discuss the OCW budget - the primary education front wants to know how Slob will meet the requirements of primary education, which involves a total amount of 1,4 billion euros.
National strike on December 12
If Minister Slob does not want to or cannot meet the demands of the PO front, the unions will call a new national strike on Tuesday, December 12. If politicians in The Hague still do not comply with our demands, the campaigns will resume after the holidays and relay campaigns will be launched in the region.
In recent weeks, the organizations involved in the PO front have been measuring the willingness to take action among their members. VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie believe that an investment of 270 million euros is sufficient for salary, where 900 million euros is needed to bring wages in the sector to a level comparable to secondary education. This is very important, because prospective students often ignore a career in primary education: elsewhere more can be earned with less intensive work.
1,4 billion euros needed
It is true that Rutte-III is also coming up with plans to reduce workload, but for that purpose the coming year is reserving a budget of only 10 million euros and not the necessary 500 million euros. The cabinet is increasing the investment to 430 million euros in 2021, but the primary education front points out that primary education does not have that time. The increase in teacher training courses is so small that the rapidly increasing teacher shortage will now exceed ten thousand FTEs in 2025. This means that the workload for teachers will increase in the coming years, while the sector already has the dubious honor of being the burnout champion: one in four teachers will have to deal with this.
The members of the participating organizations have therefore indicated in overwhelming numbers that the actions should continue. The PO front has been active since the spring to raise an extra 1,4 billion euros in The Hague. This resulted in the largest one-day strike ever in education on 5 October; more than 70 teachers then mobilized to reinforce the demands. The main event in Zuiderpark in The Hague attracted more than 60 strikers.
