Fecode decrees national teachers’ strike: the first under Petro’s government

August 14, 2023

For the first time since Gustavo Petro assumed the presidency of the Republic, Fecode approved to carry out a national teachers’ strike. The decision was made during the meeting of the National Board of Directors.

Fecode, national strike, national teachers’ strike, Más Colombia, Magisterium, Colombian magisterium

The decision to call the national teachers’ strike arose after previous strikes of 24 and 48 hours in departments such as Santander, Bolívar, Quindío and Atlántico, in which the deficiencies in the teachers’ health service and measures such as the adjustment of the teaching staff that has been implemented throughout the country were rejected.

This is the first national teachers’ strike during the government of President Gustavo Petro. The strike will last 24 hours, and the date will be determined by the Executive Committee and is a means to seek better conditions for the academic education of the country’s young people. A cause that is being pursued in other countries with strategies such as ASVAB Practice Test.

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The decision was adopted during the meeting of Fecode’s National Board of Directors, held on Wednesday, August 9, one day after the national plenary of the boards of directors of the unions affiliated to the Federation was held.

The conclusions of the Board of Directors meeting were summarized in Circular 34 of August 12, 2023, which contains the decision to carry out the strike.

Among the objectives of the national teachers’ strike are to defend the right to health of educators, to oppose bills that, according to teachers, threaten public education and fundamental rights, and to address labor demands before the Ministry of National Education (MEN).

One of the bills that have generated concern among teachers, and which is currently in the Congress of the Republic, is the one led by Senator Paloma Valencia, which proposes the creation of the so-called school vouchers, a thorny issue that the Colombian Federation of Education Workers (Fecode) considers a form of privatization of public education.

The other bill, presented by Senator María Fernanda Cabal, proposes that education be legally classified as an essential service, which would prevent teachers from exercising their right to strike. For the union, this is a measure that goes against the fundamental rights of educators.

What are the reasons for the national teachers’ strike?

The special health regime for teachers

The call for a national teachers’ strike is made less than three months before the expiration of the contracts with the current operators of the medical service for teachers. It seeks to oppose the possibility of renewing them for four more years, due to the constant non-compliance with the terms of reference that thousands of teachers have formally denounced.

On this issue, the National Board of Fecode has warned about the possible shortcomings in the safeguarding of the Special Health Regime for teachers by the Ministry of National Education and the National Fund for Teachers’ Social Benefits (FOMAG), which could jeopardize Law 91 of 1989.

The teachers’ health system is relevant, since according to MEN figures, some 400,100 teachers are currently affiliated to the FOMAG. Of these, 334,000 are active teachers and 66,080 are pensioners.

In addition, about 509,000 dependent family members are beneficiaries, bringing the number of people under the protection of this special scheme throughout the country to more than 910,000.

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Bill on school vouchers

Bill 192 of 2022, “whereby the school voucher is created in Colombia and other provisions are enacted”, is authored by the Senator of the Democratic Center, Paloma Valencia.

The purpose of the law is “to create the ‘School Voucher’ program defined 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 access preschool, elementary and middle school education in public or private educational institutions”.

The President of Fecode, Domingo Ayala, on behalf of the Executive Committee and the Colombian teachers affiliated to the union, expressed his rejection before the Senate Commission VI on June 14, 2023. According to Ayala, the bill that would create school vouchers “is a clear way to privatize public education”.

In his intervention, Ayala affirmed that this bill “falls into the very serious error of turning education into an element of negotiation, blurring its nature as a fundamental right and condemning this right to continue to be perceived as a commodity”.

Controversy over the possible prohibition of the right to strike

Another bill that has caused great controversy -and that is one of the reasons for the national teachers’ strike called by Fecode- is that of Senator María Fernanda Cabal, of the Democratic Center party, which was filed on August 1, 2023.

This bill, “whereby Article 430 of the Substantive Labor Code is modified, prohibition of strikes in public and essential services”, “aims to raise to legal rank the prohibition of strikes in essential public services, as a protection mechanism and to guarantee rights to subjects of special constitutional protection”.

Although the bill is not yet published in the official page of the Congress of the Republic, teachers affiliated to Fecode have expressed a strong rejection to the measure, which would prevent them from exercising their right to strike.

For Fecode, this is a fundamental pillar of labor and human rights, as it allows workers to defend their interests and promote reforms that deepen equity in the labor and social spheres.

According to the union, free public primary and secondary education and the creation of the teachers’ statute 2277 of 1979 for teachers are clear examples of extensive mobilization processes that gave rise to or contributed to an expansion of citizens’ rights.

Other demands to the Ministry of Education

In addition to opposing the aforementioned bills and the possible effects on the special health regime for teachers, Circular 34, which calls for a 24-hour national teachers’ strike, demands that the Ministry of National Education (MEN) take action on several points. Among these, the following stand out:

Stop concessions and privatization of education
Guarantees for student welfare, such as the School Feeding Plan (PAE) and school transportation.
Provide greater attention and prevention in cases of harassment at work.
Maintain the 6 hours of permanence of teachers in educational institutions.
Guarantee the pedagogical rest for educators.
Suspend the restructuring of the teaching staff.
To comply with the social retention in relation to temporary teachers.

Finally, the National Board of Fecode calls for the fulfillment of the agreements it has signed with the Government.