On July 29, David Edwards, Education International General Secretary, took the stage in front of more than 1,200 education union leaders to reflect on the challenges and achievements of the global education union movement in the last five years. Despite a multitude of crises, from the Covid-19 pandemic to the climate emergency, from wars to growing authoritarianism, educators have been able to create unprecedented opportunities to advance the right to education, workers’ rights, and democracy around the world.
“The fervor, this commitment, this momentum on the ground among our member organizations is undeniable, because you know that this is our time. We know that quality, free, well-resourced education systems are not inevitable. We know that highly qualified teachers, education support personnel and other educators are not guaranteed for every student in every class. It must be fought for and defended. But I can report to you here in our fourth decade as a federation that we have built the knowledge, the reputation, and the power at the highest level to be a force not only for education but for the values of human rights and democracy around the world”, Edwards stated.
In his speech Edwards highlighted Education International’s major achievements over the last five years, including the federation’s work during the Covid-19 pandemic, its unwavering solidarity across borders, the Go Public! Fund Education campaign and the United Nations recommendations on the teaching profession, the Teach for the Planet campaign and the global mobilisation for climate education and climate justice, and the organisation’s strong commitment to and action for gender equality, equity, and diversity in education and beyond.
Solidarity through every crisis
Despite the many challenges, education unions have been steadfast in their solidarity and their commitment to their members, students, and communities.
Recalling the Covid-19 pandemic, Edwards praised educators around the world, noting that “everything closed, but we didn’t. We kept alive the vision we advocate everyday as teachers and education support personnel – a place called school; the living symbol of resilience and ambition at the heart of our communities”.
Union solidarity across borders also rose to the challenge of the pandemic. “On more than 300 occasions from 2021 to today, we gathered virtually online, from one-on-ones to small groups, regional and global conferences, keeping each other close in mission and purpose and raising all of our spirits. No global organization outside of the primary health sector was more fully engaged in the global response to Covid than our federation”, the union leader stressed.
The same global solidarity came to the fore time and time again, whenever rights were denied or threatened. “When teachers’ labor rights have been taken away, our values of dignity, humanity, solidarity, compel us to advocate for them to be restored”, Edwards said, highlighting the numerous solidarity actions in support of colleagues in Myanmar, Israel, Gaza, Ukraine, Eswatini, Türkiye, Hong Kong, Belarus, the Philippines, Uganda, Mali, Iran, Tanzania, Argentina, Haiti, and Afghanistan undertaken since 2019.
“Here in Argentina, we just took action to express solidarity with our colleagues, our amazing, hardworking, welcoming hosts. They are facing rampant inflation, salary cuts, increasing poverty, and when they speak out, they are met with repression, lies, and personal threats. But they won't give up, they are standing for their students, for their communities, for their nation. La patria no se vende.”
David Edwards, Education International General Secretary
United Nations recommendations: Educators are prepared to meet the moment
Edwards stressed the importance of the recommendations of the United Nations High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession, describing them as “a great achievement, perhaps unparalleled in terms of positive outcomes for teacher policy at the international level.”
In no short part the result of union advocacy, the Panel was convened by the United Nations Secretary-General to address the global shortage of 44 million teachers. Education International was represented on the Panel by President Susan Hopgood and by Manal Hdaife, Chair of the EI Arab Countries Cross Regional Structure Committee, and Mike Thiruman, General Secretary of the Singapore Teachers Union.
Describing the recommendations as “historic”, Edwards noted that they reflect longstanding union demands on a broad range of issues, from teacher qualifications, to pay, working conditions, precarious work, wellbeing, professional respect and more.
The recommendations call on governments to ensure competitive professional salaries. They call for secure employment, good working conditions, and balanced workloads. They urge governments to guarantee public investment in education and to reject austerity measures.
The Panel also calls on the international community to establish a Global Teachers in Emergencies Fund to make sure that teachers working in crises receive fair and timely salaries. International financial institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are urged to end practices that limit education spending and teacher salaries.
Education unions around the world are bringing the UN recommendations to the negotiating table, making sure their governments are aware of the new global consensus on what it takes to ensure quality education and working together to effect change for students and educators around the world.
Stressing that “now is our time, we are prepared to meet this moment”, Edwards encouraged Education International member organisations to transform the many opportunities the global education union movement has earned into decisive action and concluded that “thanks to you, we continue to make our members more engaged, our unions stronger, our alliances more powerful, and our profession stronger every year”.