After a one-day strike in late November, teaching unions have organised a 48-hour strike across all schools in Wallonia and Brussels on Monday and Tuesday, 27 and 28 January, with a major protest in the capital on Monday.
United in a common front, the unions aim to oppose the budget cuts decided by the MR-Engagés government in vocational education and the broader reforms announced last summer in the majority agreement for education.
"These measures will permanently affect quality and accessibility for everyone and degrade working conditions for staff," the unions argue.
They claim the announced cuts in vocational (technical and professional) education will result in the loss of around 500 jobs, a point vehemently disputed by Education Minister Valérie Glatigny (MR).
Another source of union anger is the new government’s intention to replace permanent teaching appointments with indefinite contracts in the future.
This strike is expected to significantly disrupt school operations, with high levels of mobilisation anticipated, according to the unions.
Large protest in Brussels
Several schools have already sent letters to parents, advising them to keep their children at home if possible on Monday and Tuesday, although schools must still provide childcare services despite the strike.
While teachers will be striking, they are also expected to participate in a large protest march in central Brussels on Monday.
The protest is scheduled to start at 10:30 am at Midi station. At 11:00 am, the procession will head down the boulevards of the small ring road, passing the MR headquarters on Avenue de la Toison d’Or before making its way to the Les Engagés party headquarters on Rue du Commerce.
The protesters will then proceed to Place Surlet de Chokier, the seat of the French Community Government, also known as Wallonia-Brussels Federation. The march will conclude at Place des Barricades, where union leaders will deliver speeches around 13:00.
On Tuesday, the second day of the strike will feature decentralised actions, with picket lines planned outside schools.
Local actions are also planned. For example, in Mons, unions will organise a visual protest on Place du Marché aux Herbes, inspired by the popular TV series Squid Game.
This 48-hour strike will end on Tuesday, with classes resuming as normal on Wednesday.
The joint union front plans to quickly review the situation after this strike to decide the next steps in their protest movement.
Notably, the unions filed an “unlimited” action notice against the MR-Engagés government’s projects in mid-January.
