The strike, organized by the Sindicato de Todos os Profissionais da Educação (S.TO.P), is taking place today and Friday.
For the union, this represents a “novel approach” for teachers at Portuguese Schools Abroad to unite in protest.
S.TO.P revealed that after teachers at the Portuguese School of Luanda held a five-day strike with significant participation in the last week of February, the movement is now expanding to more schools collectively, indicating that these issues are widespread.
The point of contention is that teachers, both contracted and permanent, at Portuguese Schools Abroad under the Ministry of Education, Science, and Innovation (EPERP), despite finally achieving permanent status, are subjected to “working conditions inferior to those of their counterparts in Portugal and peers on statutory mobility,” according to the union.
S.TO.P emphasizes the high cost of living in these countries, the challenging access to healthcare, and the complex and costly family support, arguing that the teachers participating in this strike are, “in effect, fighting to prevent the future of teachers at these schools from being one of precariousness.”
The union further highlighted that teachers have sometimes relied on the school administrations’ efforts to offset salary disparities, the lack of a cost of living support allowance, and the financial burden of children’s education, unlike the legal provisions afforded equitably to their peers on mobility within the same schools.
