Ei-iE

The Council of Global Unions held its 12th meeting with a clear message in support of its members in the USA and against attacks on the American trade union movement.

News has reached Education International of the rearrest of Iranian education union leader Esmail Abdi.

EI witnessed another dramatic development affecting teachers and their union in Ethiopia. On Thursday 30 March 2006, the Ethiopian Federal High Court ruled that the authentic ETA leadership (EI's affiliate) has to hand over every asset and property of the association to a government-sponsored group also called ETA.

EI affiliates the NASUWT, NUT and AUT are supporting local government employee unions in their one day strike today; part of the campaign to demand fair treatment over pension rights in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).

EI affiliates the AUT and NATFHE have reacted with astonishment and anger at news today that the Universities and Colleges Employers (Ucea) Association have gone back on a commitment to meet them next week to try and resolve the current pay dispute for higher education staff.

EI affiliate the Namibia National Teachers Union (NANTU) has signed an historic agreement with the government on appropriate appointment requirements and remuneration packages for teachers.

The Government of Guyana has agreed to meet EI affiliate the Guyana Teachers' Union (GTU) following the `Stress Day' boycott of classrooms.

EI affiliate the NTEU has condemned legislation identified at the 5th Conference on Higher Education and Research in December 2005, and already being implemented to undercut union rights within the higher education sector.

EI affiliate the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF) has joined three other labour organisations and formally signed a Mutual Aid and Assistance pact to promote and protect collective bargaining in Canada.

Christiane Bitougat, General Secretary of the Gabonese teachers' union SENA, has been appointed Labour Minister of the new government of Omar Bongo on Jan 19. She is also a member of the Francophone teachers' union committee CSFEF.

It is a victory in the history of teacher trade unionism in Africa that the President of the Tanzania Teachers' Union (TTU), Margaret Sitta, has recently been appointed the country's Minister of Education and Vocational Training.

The Government of the Republic of Montenegro signed the Branch Collective Agreement with EI affiliate the Independent Union of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Montenegro (ITUESCSM) on 23 December, 2005 after Education International’s intervention.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a statement on 4 January deploring the "series of defamation, incitement and disinformation law suits and arrests of members of civil society, trade unions, media and the Sam Rainsy opposition party in the course of last year."

EI affiliate the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers' Association (TTUTA) is threatening to take legal action to protect the rights of teachers at two technical institutes.

Bulgarian teachers organised by EI affiliates SEB and PODKREPA started their strike for better working conditions on 25 November. On 18 December, the president of SEB, Janka Takeva, addressed an open letter to the representative of the International Monetary Fund who took part in a meeting with the Bulgarian Ministry...

EI sent a clear message to the authorities of Montenegro on 9 December that the latter has to sign the "Branch Collective Agreement for Education" as stipulated in the General Collective Agreement in 2004.

EI affiliate the Australian Education Union has expressed concerns about “Teaching Australia,” a national professional body announced by the government and aimed at enhancing the professional status of teachers and teaching.