Three major teachers’ unions in Belgium announced they would no longer attend government meetings addressing the shortage of French-speaking qualified teachers in Wallonia and Brussels, calling the process a "parody".
The French-speaking community government (FWB), led by Minister-President Élisabeth Degryse (Les Engagés) and Education Minister Valérie Glatigny (MR), initiated four working groups earlier this year to address the issue.
These groups, involving unions and educational stakeholders with CGSP Enseignement, CSC Enseignement, and SETCa-SEL, aimed to develop a strategy to tackle the teacher shortage, with a framework of measures expected in September.
Initially, the unions welcomed the initiative. However, after several meetings, they decided to withdraw from the discussions.
The unions claim the government has disregarded unanimous input from participants. They also express concerns over the government’s priority to implement measures from the community policy statement (DPC) "at all costs."
One particular grievance is the government’s reported principle of placing "an adult, regardless of their training, in front of pupils," which the unions argue reduces teaching to a mere "occupational function."
The unions describe their withdrawal as the “first step in a new plan of opposition” against the government’s policies.
Neither the offices of Élisabeth Degryse nor Valérie Glatigny responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.
