On the day that the district-wide strike called by a coalition of nine unions reaches Santarém, teachers from across the country begin a new camp in Lisbon to protest the policies of the Ministry of Education.
The teachers’ camp that begins today and is scheduled to conclude on May 1 is an initiative of a group of education professionals who are organizing themselves via social networks.
The camp, originally intended for Largo do Carmo in Lisbon, begins today in Rossio so as not to conflict with other events planned for that area to commemorate the 25th of April, and will begin there on Tuesday.
“More than 200 teachers have already expressed interest in attending the camp, which begins the night of April 24 to 25. Given the significance of the location and the date, we would like the camp to be in Largo do Carmo, said Helena Vicente Gomes, a teacher.
During the camp, the teachers will participate in vigils and other initiatives, such as the April 25th national demonstration.
Today, the union platform comprising the National Federation of Teachers (Fenprof) and the National Federation of Education (FNE) brings the district strike, which began on Monday in Porto, to Santarém.
Teachers will hold a rally at noon near the Ginestal Machado Secondary School and another at 3:00 pm near the Cavalry Practical School, from which they will proceed to a rally in Largo do Seminário.
The strike, which will move from Viseu to Aveiro in reverse alphabetical order, concludes on May 12 in Lisbon.
The current demonstrations follow a weekend of demonstrations by the teaching class.
The “Mission Public School” movement organized a protest at Portuguese airports on Saturday to “show tourists that, although the country is beautiful, it does not have a respected public school system.”
At the Porto airport, dozens of teachers launched paper airplanes and distributed greeting cards to tourists with messages such as “Portugal: a lovely place to visit, a terrible place to live” and “Welcome to the country where teachers are becoming slaves.”
On Sunday, tens of thousands of people chanted “resignation” in Porto, close to where the Socialist Party was celebrating its 50th anniversary. The demonstration was organized by a group of Northern teachers.
Near the Rosa Mota Pavilion, the march brought together thousands of individuals from various sectors, including education, local housing, and the justice system.
The return of all service time that was frozen during the economic crisis is one of the primary reasons for teachers’ protests and strikes; they are also critical of access restrictions to the fifth and seventh grades and evaluation quotas.
Teachers Return to the Streets with Demonstrations in Lisbon and Porto