With the strike of the workers in the public administration scheduled for Friday, October 25, organized by the Union Front, it is expected that there will be a major impact on the education sector, especially in pre-schools and primary schools. Filinto Lima, president of the National Association of Directors of Groups and Public Schools (ANDAEP), in remarks to Executive Digest, highlighted that despite limited publicity for the strike, it was those levels of education that could have the greatest impact on the strike.
Filinto Lima emphasized that the strike, although less publicized compared to other recent strikes, could cause significant disruption in some schools, mainly due to the shortage of non-teaching staff. “This strike has been very little publicized, even by trade union delegates who usually go to schools… I think for this reason I don’t see that we can have a strike with such strong effects as we saw two weeks ago. ago”, said Lima.
However, the president of ANDAEP made an important warning: preschool and the 1st cycle are the most vulnerable levels of education. “These are schools that do not have many employees, often one or two are lost, the school is unable to guarantee safety and has to close,” he explained.
With the shutdown planned, Filinto Lima advises parents to be alert and contact schools early in the morning. “Parents should be more alert and contact the school first thing in the morning, to try to understand whether the educational institution can close its doors or not”, he suggested, indicating that it can these cases occur mainly in primary schools, where there is a direct shortage of staff. affecting the ability to keep doors open and ensure student safety.
“This strike will have a greater impact on primary school children than in other years to come”, reiterated Lima, predicting that although the strike might not be as big as the previous ones, that its influence could be felt more concentratedly at these levels. of education.
The strike is part of a series of demands from the Common Front, which calls for salary adjustments for civil servants. Sebastião Santana, coordinator of the Common Front, told Lusa that he expects “thousands of workers in Lisbon”, adding that there should be high participation in sectors such as education, health and public service services, such as Social Security and Finance .
In addition to the strike notices issued, which cover the whole day on Friday to allow workers to go to the demonstration in Lisbon, the Common Front demands a salary increase of at least 15%, with a minimum of 150 euros per worker, from January. 2025. It also requires an interim increase to restore lost purchasing power and an increase in the food allowance to 10.50 euros.
The demonstration is scheduled for 3pm at Praça do Marquês de Pombal, in Lisbon, and then goes to the Assembly of the Republic, with the aim of demanding improvements in salary conditions and careers of public administration workers.
