EI affiliates the Syndicat national des enseignements de second degré (SNES-FSU), the Syndicat national unitaire des instituteurs, professeurs des écoles et PEGC (SNUipp-FSU), and the Union nationale des syndicats autonomes-Education (UNSA-Education) welcomed the announcement by Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault of the permanent appointment of 28,000 support workers for students with disabilities.
"In the autumn of 2014, 28,000 teaching assistants who hold the position of School Aides (AVS) will gradually see their jobs transformed into permanent contracts," announced Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault. "The current fragile measures for supporting students with disabilities will be firmly entrenched in the structures for education provision."
Currently, an AVS cannot be employed for more than six years. Minister of Education Vincent Peillon said recently that carers for disabled children found themselves"in unlikely and unacceptable situations that were painful for these people who were recruited, sometimes given a little training and thenabandoned. And very painful for the children who grew attached to them. This situation is now behind us." In June, he announced 8,000 new subsidised contracts from September.
Public law contracts
Over 28,000 people (the equivalent of 16,421 full-time jobs) are potentially affected by the proposal of a permanent contract, after six years on an AVS contract. This should account for 3,000 permanent contracts from the Autumn of 2014, increasing to 28,000 contracts over six years. Support workers will be given a public law contract withoutbecoming public servants. Meanwhile, those AVS workers whose contract has just ended will be offered a contract for 2013-2014.
Additionally, AVS workers will be offered "enhanced training". A new state diploma will be created, marking official recognition of the profession, while students of the new Higher Education Establishments for Teaching and Education (Espé) will be trained to care for children with disabilities.
The SNUipp-FSU, the biggest primary education trade union, welcomed the new arrangement, stating that these measures “enable more than half of the staff concerned to get out of poverty", making this a "significant first step".
UNSA: "Support worker" job an important step forward
UNSA-Education welcomed the desire to eliminate the insecurity associated with supporting the education of children with disabilities. The creation of a profession of "support worker" for students with disabilities is an "important step forward", and partially echoes its own demands.
"This is an important step for the 28,000 people involved who will be able to benefit from a permanent contract beyond their six years on an educational assistant contract, and will be provided with the opportunity of obtaining a certificate recognising their professional skills," noted Laurent Escure, Secretary General of UNSA-Education.
He added that it is also good news for the teaching staff caring for children with disabilities in their schools and institutions. Thecreation of a profession must provide opportunities for training and consistency as a result of competent professionals who will facilitate and increase the chances of success of projects for supporting these children. Finally, he noted that the announced measures are a step towards real improvement for the children concerned and their parents.
SNES: A first step, but more to be done
The SNES-FSU has also welcomed the measure. "The Department has finally decided to make support and assistance to students with disabilities in schools a fully-fledged profession, which involves specific training and recruitment initiatives," noted Daniel Robin, co-general secretary of SNES-FSU. "At the same time, it will gradually provide job security similar to that of civil servants for those who are currently practicing the profession and whose term was necessarily limited to six years."
This represents significant progress. Unfortunately, its progressive implementation, the non-alignment of the status of these professionals with the status of other school staff, the contents and level of training, the imposed part-time status temper the positive elements of this measure. According to Robin, "this can only be the first of many steps for us".
ETUCE: Government responsible for quality education for all
Martin Rømer, Director of the European Trade Union Committee for Education, EI's Europe region, said the French national authorities should be congratulated “for improving the working conditions and lives of educators in charge of students with disabilities - governments have a responsibility to ensure equal access to quality education for all".