Hundreds of teachers went on indefinite mass strikes across the country in breach of government regulations on Thursday (1 December) after the Interior Ministry fired eight teachers for participation in civil disobedience actions demanding better working conditions.
So far, 497 teachers from 53 schools spread across Hungary have ceased work indefinitely, according to data published by the Teachers for Teachers association, Telex reported.
The government has effectively outlawed the teachers’ ability to strike by a decree issued on 11 February, which educators argue renders the right to protest meaningless since restrictions mandate hours comparable to normal days.
Since then, hundreds of teachers around the country have continued to participate in “civil disobedience” in violation of the rules.
The government so far has refused to heed the months-long demands by educators of the country’s predominantly public primary and secondary education systems for higher pay and better conditions.
Hungarian teachers ‘mourn’ beginning of school year
Hungarian teachers’ union leaders held a protest on Thursday wearing all black to “mourn” the beginning of the school year as the government’s demands for higher pay and better conditions are yet to be heard.
The leadership of the Hungarian Teachers’ …
On Wednesday (30 November), the Interior Minister announced in a press statement that a total of eight teachers had been fired effective immediately.
Six of the eight were staff at Budapest’s Karinthy Frigyes High School (KFHS), the first secondary school in Eastern Europe to be accredited by the International Baccalaureate (IB) Committee in 1992. Headmaster László Hutai then informed staff, students and parents of an extraordinary break from 1-2 December, both 444.hu and Népszava report.
“Unlawful refusal to work by a teacher is a restriction on the pupil’s ability to fulfil his/her obligation to attend school and to exercise his/her right to education as enshrined in the Constitution,” the Interior Ministry said, adding pupils go to school to learn and “unlawful behaviour is not exemplary to them”.
After the announcement, hundreds of people demonstrated in front of the interior ministry building, and by Thursday morning, reports emerged of mass teacher walkouts across the country.
The terminated KFHS teachers last month joined the World Teachers’ Day protests while a video showing the conditions of the public school building, including leakages and mould, was published online.
Teachers’ unions have since said they would sue the government in front of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
Education part of Hungary’s EU commitments
The terminations came the same day the European Commission decided to tie Hungary’s €5.8 billion COVID recovery cash to fulfil the 27 ‘supermilestones’ aimed at strengthening the independence of the judiciary, auditing rules and control of how EU funds are used.
Under the investment plan agreed between the EU executive and Budapest, the government led by Viktor Orbán committed to implementing a law increasing teachers’ wages up to at least 80% of the average salary of university graduates by the end of the first trimester of 2023.
However, the law, whose cutoff deadline for entry into force is 1 January 2025, is not one of the 27 sine qua non-conditions of the European Commission for beginning the disbursement of Hungary’s recovery cash.
“Students go to school to learn, they say. I ask: how can we learn if they take away our teachers?” one student participating in last night’s protests from the capital’s Eötvös József Gimnázium told Telex, adding he was outraged that teachers’ pay was being made dependent on EU money.
Commission recommends EU funds for Hungary remain frozen
While recommending the freezing of EU funds under the rule of law conditionality mechanism, the European Commission gave a formal green light to Hungary’s recovery plan. However, the disbursement of the recovery money would be linked to 27 ‘supermilestones’.
[Edited by Alice Taylor]
Source: euractiv.com
