Attention: on August 30 there will be a national teachers’ strike, this is what Fecode said

August 22, 2023

Colombia will experience a national teachers’ strike on August 30. This was defined by Fecode, the largest teachers’ union. The special health regime, two bills and the reforms led by the government are among the reasons.

fecode, national teachers’ strike, Magisterium, Más Colombia

The Colombian Federation of Education Workers (Fecode) announced that it has set the date for the national teachers’ strike it announced a few days ago. The mobilization, which will last 24 hours and will be extended to the entire national territory, will take place on August 30. In the midst of this convocation, teachers promote the practice of Microsoft AZ-500: Practice Test Dumps Questions, as a way to expand the knowledge of key tools for every professional.

The decision to stop had been taken during the National Board of Directors of the largest teachers’ union in the country, which was held on August 9, after the national plenary of the affiliated unions’ boards of directors had been held.

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Circular 34, which deals with the Conclusions of the August 9 National Meeting, had empowered the Executive Committee to define the date of the national teachers’ strike.

In its official Twitter account, Fecode said that the national teachers’ strike will be carried out “for the defense of the right to protest and union association”. In another publication, Fecode referred to other reasons that motivated the decision to carry out the mobilization.

https://twitter.com/miguep_fecode/status/1693626776079962314

The reasons behind the national teachers strike

One of the reasons for the national teachers’ strike is the deficiencies in the provision of health services by La Fiduprevisora, the company contracted by the Fondo Nacional de Prestaciones Sociales del Magisterio (Fomag) to guarantee the sector’s special health regime.

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Fecode has repeatedly said that this company does not adequately ensure compliance with the contracts with the health operators, and has expressed its concern about the possibility that these contracts will be renewed in the coming weeks, considering that they expire on October 31.

The teachers, who have officially registered thousands of complaints about the provision of medical services, have expressed several fears about the new contracts.

Avoid repeating the history of Law 100

FECODE has emphasized the importance of avoiding that the health service received by teachers ends up being similar to the one received by users of Law 100, and has called for ensuring compliance with Law 91 of 1989.

Flexibility in the terms of reference

Another of the fears that led to the call for the national teachers’ strike is that the “Terms of Reference” in the teachers’ medical service contracts will be increasingly lax and will reduce the possibility for teachers and their families to claim decent health care.

The Terms of Reference are the set of conditions, specifications and detailed requirements that define and establish the parameters under which the medical service is provided to teachers and workers of the education sector.

Bills of the Democratic Center

Another of the reasons for the decision to carry out a national teachers’ strike are two bills promoted by the Centro Democrático political party, which are currently being discussed in the Congress of the Republic.

This is the bill led by Senator Paloma Valencia, which proposes to create the “‘Bono Escolar program’, about which Fecode has said that “it is nothing more than another attempt at privatization”.

The bill defines the Bono Escolar “as the voucher or check delivered and financed by the Colombian State to parents, or those exercising parental authority, so that children and adolescents in conditions of vulnerability, moderate poverty or extreme poverty can have access to preschool, elementary and middle school education in public or private educational institutions”.

The other bill is the one led by Senator María Fernanda Cabal, which seeks to declare education as an “essential service”. In this regard, Fecode points out that this prevents education from being recognized as a fundamental right.

It has also emphasized that if this bill is approved, teachers would not be able to exercise their right to social protest and strike, as is the case with workers who provide essential services related to the protection of life, safety or health of people.

Support to the National Government’s reforms

Finally, Fecode stated that another reason for the national teachers’ strike is to support the social reforms being promoted by the National Government in the Congress of the Republic.