After a mass mobilisation in Brussels last month, thousands of Francophone teachers will return to the streets in protest to state their demands to the Wallonia-Brussels government in Mons on Tuesday.
The teachers will gather in front of the Sainte-Waudru church in Doudou at 10:30, before marching through the city’s streets. The demonstration may lead to further strikes and local initiatives across Wallonia and Brussels.
The action aims to protest the “devaluation” of the teaching profession by politicians and society as a whole. School closures, online learning and education reforms have sparked widespread frustration and anxiety among education staff in Wallonia and French-speaking schools in Brussels.
The protest is aiming to maintain attention on the sectors' demands. “We want to show that the movement still exists, and that teachers are still mobilising.” explains Roland Lahaye, general secretary of CSC Education.
The demands
The teachers' union is calling for the freezing of the staff evaluation system, which causes anxiety and stress for many, and for further consultations on the timetable for reforms, of which the timing is deemed inappropriate as schools emerge from the health crisis that has affected their operations.
The unions denounce measures that can cause job losses and weakens support for staff.
Teachers are also advocating for the urgent reconsideration of class sizes as well as other aspects of the negotiated deal with the government, after the unions rejected the proposals of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation for a budget of an additional €32 million euros by 2024. This effort is considered insufficient by the teaching sector.
