“The prevailing feeling is one of injustice and disappointment. Teachers expected that, after the new decree was published, there would be respect and immediate application of legally defined rights,” stated teacher Gustavo Alves, from the strike committee.
On October 30, teachers at the Portuguese School of Mozambique announced an indefinite strike, starting on November 6, demanding monetary support provided for by law, which should have been paid in September.
They complain about the “non-transfer of the installation subsidy, especially for colleagues who were on mobility in the previous academic year,” the requirement for “contracted colleagues to pay health insurance,” “non-payment of travel for start and cessation of functions,” and “non-payment of residence subsidy continuously and equitably,” in addition to the “incomprehensible delay in paying monetary compensations due to teachers entering the permanent staff in 2024/2025.”
Gustavo Alves explained that teachers have witnessed “contradictory interpretations” in different Portuguese schools abroad regarding the application of the same law, including “unacceptable delays” in payments, “which undermines trust and creates a profound sense of inequality among teachers performing the same functions in different countries.”
“Despite this, this strike is not a gesture of confrontation but one of dignity and appeal to dialogue. Teachers yearn for the correction of irregularities, hoping that the Portuguese Government respects the law it approved and publishes clear and uniform guidelines for the entire network of Portuguese Schools Abroad,” said this member of the strike committee.
Teachers at the Portuguese school in Maputo stated there are no talks with the Government, confirming that the strike will proceed this Thursday with the stoppage of activities for an indefinite period.
“The strike will be conducted in an orderly and responsible manner, and it has a symbolic and reivindicative character — aiming to demand the immediate application of legally enshrined rights to all teachers of Portuguese Schools Abroad, without exceptions or discriminations,” indicated that the approximately 150 teachers at the school are eager to participate in the protest.
The teachers at the Mozambique school follow the example of Portuguese schools in Dili and Luanda, which have already called for strikes, but the teachers in Timor-Leste decided to suspend the stoppage because the institution’s management decided to revoke the demand for reimbursement of installation support.
The Maputo strike was decided at the end of a plenary in which teachers and the Sindicato de Todos os Profissionais de Educação (S.TO.P) participated last week, informed the union in a statement.
The union denounced that “at the Portuguese School of Mozambique, irregularities in the non-application of guarantees and support established” by law, “which came to address the legitimate demands of displaced teachers in Portuguese Schools Abroad (EPE), are more glaring than in other EPE,” adding that institutions cannot request reimbursement without specifying the legal framework, “which does not exist.”
S.TO.P accused the Ministry of Education, Science, and Innovation (MECI) of not granting the support to which teachers are entitled, “through discriminatory schemes and bad faith,” mentioning that it does not understand the “deceptive stance of the MECI.”
