On October 15, we begin an industrial action, for an indefinite period, in the form of carrying out only the duties outlined in the education law - the chairman of the Polish Teachers' Union (ZNP), Sławomir Broniarz, announced on Wednesday.
Sławomir Broniarz announced the decision at a press conference. He said that the industrial action would mean restricting teachers' duties to those activities "that can be carried out within the 40-hour work week and those outlined in the education law".
"On the other hand, we won't be doing what has become a certain norm, an unwritten law, which has become a habit for those who are in charge of Polish education," he underscored. Among those things, Broniarz mentioned school trips, the so-called green schools, as well as activity clubs and extra-curricular activities.
Teachers' poll
In a poll conducted by the ZNP among the teachers, about 50 percent said they would prefer a work-to-rule strike. "I must admit that we were quite surprised in a positive way, because the teachers can still remember the attacks on them in the media, smear campaings," Broniarz said.
"We want the basic wage of certified teachers to equal the average wage in the country, and the wages of remaining levels of professional development to be in percentage reference to the certified teachers' wage," he added.
"We don't want to do this before the elections. It's still fresh in our memories, all the negative approach towards us, all these attacks, hate, slander - allegations that our action was political. We don't want to do it before the elections, we want to do it right after," said the ZNP chief.
"Government has delivered"
"We won't be joining the work-to-rule strike just yet. First we want to let the government to meet our demands written up in the agreement from April 7," the head of the teachers' "Solidarity" union, Ryszard Proksa, said on Wednesday.
"The Law and Justice cabinet has so far delivered all promises made in regard to pay rises for teachers this year," said the spokesperson for the government, Piotr Müller, asked for comment on the strike declaration.
At the same time, Müller stressed that the government is open and ready for all talks after the election.
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 News in English, PAP