Teachers back on the streets.
After a day of strike on February 1, several teaching unions once again called on the profession to demonstrate by joining the public service mobilization planned for Tuesday, March 19, to demand salary increases "in a context still sustained inflation.
According to the Snes-FSU, which represents the second degree, more than 120 demonstrations are planned across France.
In Paris, a demonstration is organized from 2 p.m. departing from Luxembourg, announced the Sud Éducation Paris union, which is announcing a “strong strike” in the capital, already demanding a renewal of the movement in the following days.
🗣️📣Where to demonstrate on Tuesday March 19?
💪More than 120 meetings planned!
➡️Map of demonstrations and gatherings: https://t.co/fAxS4yiI3S #Grève19mars #EducationEncolère pic.twitter.com/vid8c6nrud
— SNES-FSU (@SNESFSU) March 16, 2024
“It is urgent to open negotiations without delay to improve careers and take general measures for salaries, in particular by revaluing the index point”, urge in a joint press release FSU, Unsa Education, SGEN-CFDT, CGT Éduc action and SUD education, deploring a “collapse in the level of remuneration of public agents”.
The FSU SNUipp, the leading union in nursery and elementary schools, is demanding in particular an increase of 300 euros net monthly for all teachers.
The Snes-FSU is asking for an “immediate increase of 10% of the index point”.
The “clash of knowledge” at the heart of the protest
The organizations are also calling for more positions to "reduce the number of students per class, ensure replacements and provide specialized teaching when necessary", protesting against the cut of 700 million euros for the National Education budget as part of the current plan of 10 billion savings.
The unions are also up against the “shock of knowledge” which they are calling for to be abandoned, a series of measures announced by Gabriel Attal in December, when he was Minister of Education, and which appeared in the Official Journal on Sunday.
The minister notably mentioned “level groups”, a solution strongly criticized by teachers.
Although the term no longer appears in the decree, the text nevertheless provides for groups "based on the needs of students identified by teachers", and emphasizes that "the groups of students in greatest difficulty benefit from reduced numbers".
Choices “far from remedying academic difficulties”, according to the FSU SNUipp, according to which these groups “de facto organize a real sorting according to social origin which still remains largely determining in the educational path”.
For its part, Sud Education criticizes a reform of “social sorting and sanctions against students in difficulty”, seeing it as a “forceful move” by the Prime Minister.
Also read “Friture on the line”: Attal comes back in force on education, at the risk of eclipsing Minister Nicole Belloubet
Some unions are already calling for the movement to continue after March 19, including the FSU SNUipp, which is urging the profession to “turn up the pressure”.
In Seine-Saint-Denis, where the mobilization began a few days ago, Sud Éducation 93 is planning a demonstration on Thursday March 21 at 12 p.m. in the direction of Matignon, the place of departure of which still remains to be decided.
A teachers' demonstration gathered last Thursday 5,000 people according to the unions, 1,200 people according to the police.
On February 1, almost one in two secondary school teachers (47%) followed the call to strike, according to Snes-FSU, compared to 20% according to the Ministry of Education.