Teachers strike over evaluation system
Primary and secondary education teachers are striking on Thursday over the new evaluation system expected to be sent to the House plenum on Monday.
Poed, Oelmek and Isotita have blamed the education ministry over the situation, to which Education Minister Athena Michaelides replied that everyone must respect democratic procedures.
President of the confederation of parents’ associations of public secondary schools, Loizos Constantinou, said that parents have expressed anger over the work stoppage.
Oelmek president Demetris Taliadoros said ahead of the strike, “One of the basic lessons is that democracies are not blackmailed. In democracies, the worker has the right to strike, which must, since it is constitutionally protected, be respected.”
Poed president Myria Vasiliou said the union had its members’ authorisation to strike since June but had refrained to do so until now.
The strike covers the first two periods, from 7.30am to 9am for Oelmek members and from 7.30am to 9.05am for Poed members, affecting about 310,000 students and parents.
School buses for primary and secondary school students will not be operated on Thursday.
Technical schools are open as usual and bus schedules are thus not affected.