On January 13th, 75% of primary school teachers went out on strike against the
health situation in schools, together with 62% of secondary teachers and 24% ofhigh school teachers. Demonstrations took place in Paris and many cities andtowns around France. ---- Jean-Michel Blanquer, Minister of National Education,has succeeded in alienating a huge swathe of education workers, through his planto keep schools open at all costs, despite the escalating levels of the Covidpandemic. He wants schools to be daycare centres for capitalism, so that workersstay at work, rather than looking after their children, so that the wheels keepturning for profit. He boasted that "France is the country that kept its schoolsopen the most."This huge movement, which will close down over half the schools in France, followstrikes in the most vulnerable education sector. This has led on to today'saction, Tens of thousands of teachers were involved in this move against theMacron government's stated aim of keeping schools open at all costs.Whilst the reason for this strike movement is around health, the roots of thesituation lie deeper. Thirty years of neo-liberal policies in education haveresulted in this explosion. Covid is spreading rapidly in schools, affecting bothstudents and staff, and endangering the whole population as the virus is carriedback to families and friends. About 10,000 classes have closed because ofinfections of students and staff. Teachers feel that they have been treated withcontempt by the Macron regime.The Macron government has repeatedly changed the rules for schools in regards toCovid, with no consultation with teachers.Teachers absent because of Covid have not been replaced, leading to increasingpressure on those still working. Some of the demands of the teachers are for themore effective FFP2 face masks to be supplied and for CO2 monitors to checkwhether classrooms are sufficiently ventilated.The strike was supported by the largest parents' group, the FCPE, which urgedparents to keep their children home on the strike day.ChicagoMeanwhile, in Chicago in the USA, teachers there also went on strike for fourdays over Covid concerns. 73% of the membership of the Chicago Teachers Unionwent on strike because of their disgust at being forced back to in-classroomteaching by Mayor Lori Lightfoot.Lightfoot then called the strikes "illegal walkouts". In the end the leadershipof the union reached a deal with Lightfoot which meant a return to in-houselearning and set conditions to go back to remote learning if there were increasedstaff absences and an increase in infections. This has been met with disquietfrom rank and file union members.OaklandAnd in Oakland, California, teachers and students acted together over concernsabout Covid. Teachers went on strike at 12 schools and students threatened tostrike over demands for the supply of masks, testing and remote learning.StarbucksWorkers at a Starbucks cafe in Buffalo, New York, went on strike and closed downtheir workplace over Covid concerns.https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2022/01/14/french-teachers-give-a-lesson/_________________________________________A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C EBy, For, and About AnarchistsSend news reports to A-infos-en mailing listA-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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