A large-scale protest organised by all nine Flemish and French-speaking education trade unions will be taking place in Brussels this morning. The police expect many people to take part, causing disruption in the city centre.
Scores of teachers and unions will gather in the city centre of Brussels on Tuesday morning. For the first time since 1996, it will be a national demonstration, as all nine Flemish and French-speaking education trade unions (ACOD Education, CGSP-Enseignement, SEL-SETCA, CSC-Enseignement, COC, COV, VSOA, SLFP, and APPEL) have called on teachers to strike and protest in Brussels.
"The group will gather this morning on Carrefour de l'Europe next to Central Station and will set off from here around 10:00," Ilse Van de keere, a spokesperson for the Brussels city/Ixelles police zone, told The Brussels Times.
The number of participants is expected to be high, as strike notices have been filed for primary, secondary and higher education schools. "We are expecting a great number of people and will deploy officers along the route, which will be cordoned off. The areas around the route will also be disrupted."
The demonstration will end shortly before 11:00 at Place Surlet de Chokier, next to the Small Ring Road by Madou. "However, the exact end of the procession depends on the number of participants. The action itself will end around 13:00 after speeches have been given," Van de keere noted.
Why are teachers protesting?
The overall grievances among both Dutch-language and French-speaking teachers are the same. They relate to chronic teacher shortages – resulting in secondary schools cancelling or modifying exams and closing classes – a high dropout rate of new teachers, more mental illnesses and burn-outs.
"With this protest, we aim to make ourselves heard in unison as a sector before the June elections," the ACOD union said. "Because the problems in education are broadly similar, across the language border, and the borders of education levels." The united front stressed it is imperative to bring education back to the top of the government's agenda.
However, some of the demands are specific to government measures in both the French- and Dutch-speaking communities. French-speaking teachers, for example, also focus on social promotion and teacher appraisals in the French Community Government.
A teacher in a school in Flanders. Credit: Belga / Morgane Berger
Dutch-speaking teachers will protest in their underwear on Tuesday, referring to a stunt by Flemish education minister Ben Weyts (N-VA) earlier this year, in which he walked through a classroom in his underpants to draw attention to Bednet Pyjama Day. The action calls for people to go to school or work in sleepwear in solidarity with children and young people who cannot attend school due to illness.
"Wear your underpants on you visibly to show Weyts and the rest of politics how we really feel," the Dutch-language unions said. "For him, this is a playful stunt; for us, it is bitter seriousness." The unions already announced actions, including against a contested report with 70 proposals to tackle the teacher shortage and outline a vision for a modern personnel policy in education.
The unions were immediately critical, arguing that the report fails to substantiate the proposals or explain how they will be achieved. Subsequent surveys conducted by the unions found that teaching staff were also widely dissatisfied with the proposals.
More actions to come
After this national demonstration, many more regional actions are planned, which could further disrupt lessons for pupils in schools across the country.
If teachers are participating in the strike day, the school must always inform parents in advance whether or not it will be open during the strike and how it will organise care for pupils.
Normally, teacher strike days are ordinary school days for pupils, and the school must provide free care for pupils unless there are not enough staff to supervise. In this case, the school may decide to close.
