Teachers
movement
wins
concessions
LAST YEAR francophone
Belgian teachers overcame their sectoral divisions, state-inspired
"decentralization" and the resistance of the unlon bureaucracies to launch a powertul movement for better pay and conditions. And their struggle has brought results. ERIC TOUSSAINT
T HE movement to totally paralyze
all schools ended on November 29, 1990 after the government made new concessions. agreement was reached in a climate of intense political interest. The Socialist party had to postpone its congress on the Future of Socialism that was planned for November 24/25. This decision was taken out of the PS' leadership's fear that thousands of teachers — a majority of them PS supporters — would turn up to demonstrate. Furthermore, in order to reassure the teachers, the presidents of the PS and the Christian Socialist Party signed the agreement with the union leaders in front of TV cameras, something quite unprecedented in Belgium.
The latest government proposals had been rejected by a majority of the union members affiliated to the two socialist centrals, the liberal centrals and one of the four Christian centrals. Nonetheless it was these very proposals that formed the basis of the collective agreement signed in mid-December by the Christian and
The Socialist leaders have defended this action with the argument that it was necessary to maintain union unity. The militants have replied that the a refusal to released, then these rumours were denied by the DPP's office. The intended effect appears to be to make people believe release is inevitable, and create a false sense of security. In this atmosphere they have tried to get the men to ask for parole — since this would mean admitting guilt in the first place, they have refused. To their shame, Irish diplomats have aided these British government efforts. * sign the agreement would not have been an obstacle to rapidly establishing a union front of action for new improvements. They add that, in any case, the concessions made by the government will be implemented since they would be applicable even if signed by only two of the Christian
Nonetheless, even the militants recognize that a partial victory has been won by the 100,000 teachers that have been taking action over the past six months - and on strike for six weeks. This is the first time for ten years that a teachers' struggle has
A comparison between what the Education Ministries were proposing in March 1990 and the December agreement shows the results of the struggle.
In March, the 2% increase in salaries to come into effect in November was to be financed by staff reductions in September 1990. In December the 2% was paid and staff levels maintained until September 1992. Furthermore there is to be a salary increase of 3.5% in March 1991 for the most poorly paid. In October 1992, each teacher will get an increase of 4% on their salary of February 1991. Nursery school teachers will get a raise of over 10% at the start of their career and 6% at the end.
Improvements for students
The government has also undertaken to lower the enrollment fees for universities and higher education and increase grants. Finally it has also agreed to improve the security of employment of young teachers at the start of their careers (in Belgium, which led to the loss of 47,000 teaching jobs in the 1980s, a "young" teacher can be from 25 to 38 years of age!).
It should also be noted that the indexation of wages was re-established in Beladjustments should be added to the salary increases mentioned above.
If, despite everything, there is still much dissatisfaction among the teachers, this is because expectations increased as the movement broadened. The demand for an increase of more than 10% won much sympathy. But there is above all a feeling that a substantial improvement in the quality of the job has not been won. It is thus possible that the struggle will begin again in the coming months, despite the attitude of the union leaderships.
AROUND with us to continue the common fight, for the fight for the future has only just
I salute you and bid you farewell in the name of the Trotskyist Group and the
Fourth International."*
THE
WORLD
RWANDA Political trials ON January 3, 1991 Rwandan radio announced the trials of 13 political detainees. The 13, young peasants from the north east of the country, were among 1566 detainees who are to be tried this month. They received no legal assistance and their trials took place in the absence of any independent observer. For 12 of them, the prosecution demanded the death penalty; for the other, a prison sentence of 20
The treatment of these 13 detainees indicates the kind of fate which can be expected by the thousands of people arrested in the course of massive round-ups aimed at sympathizers of the Rwandan Patriotic Front-Inkotanyi, which has been
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A former deputy of PASOK (Socialover to the right, recently published a book entitled 17-N, the chief. The book presents Pablo, who lives in Greece, as the "conductor of the secret orchestra" of November 17, a Greek terrorist organization responsible for the assassination of