Thousands of teachers in protest in the streets of Lisbon to the Assembly of the Republic

“One, two, three, here we are again” is one of the slogans that can be heard in Rossio Square, where today begins another demonstration convened by a platform of teachers’ unions that organized a similar initiative less than a year ago. month.

“Time is for counting, not for stealing” is one of the most shouted phrases by teachers who demand the Government to open a negotiation process for the recovery of the more than six years in which their careers were frozen, during the Troika.

At the beginning of today’s demonstration, two young students stand out wearing t-shirts announcing “my parents are teachers” and who also explained to journalists the reasons for the protests that began at the end of last year and have not stopped.

Among the protesters, there is a chant “Precarious up to 50, no young person can handle it”, demanding measures from the Government that guarantee stability to the class that is known for “walking with the house on its back”.

Similar to what is happening in Lisbon, a manifestation of teachers is also taking place in Porto, who were able to participate in the regional strikes that took place on Thursday in schools in the north of the country and on Friday in schools in the south.

The last demonstration called by the union platform took place a little less than a month ago, on February 11, and many of the reasons for the protest remain unchanged, but in the meantime new reasons to take to the streets have emerged.

Trade unions and the Ministry of Education have been negotiating since September to try to reach an agreement on a new model for recruiting and placing teachers. Last week, the last meeting took place, which ended without an agreement, with the unions having already announced that they will ask for additional meetings.

The new proposal presented this week by the Government did not convince the unions that say they maintain some of the “red lines” that the teachers had already pointed out, as is the case of the creation of Pedagogical Zone Framework Councils (QZP).

The two protests started today from Rossio, in Lisbon, and Praça do Marquês, in Porto, and are destined for the Assembly of the Republic, for those in Lisbon, and the Aliados, for those in Porto.

Teachers have been on strike since December, at the time with an indefinite strike called by the Union of All Education Professionals (Stop), which remains in protest against the Government’s proposal for competitions and placement of teachers.

Meanwhile, the union platform, which does not include Stop, called for a strike that took place by district for 18 days, culminating in a demonstration on February 11, which brought together more than 100,000 people in Lisbon, according to estimates by the Fenprof.

YES // PJA

By Impala News / Lusa

Follow Impala on Instagram