January 27 and 28
This Monday, demonstrators will take to the streets of Brussels to form a procession leaving the Gare du Midi at 11 a.m. On Tuesday, more local actions will be organized. This ranges from pickets in front of the school entrance to information points in the streets. In Liège, a human chain will be formed while in Tournai a gathering will take place in the park. We should also expect some actions from the higher education side.
“The idea is not to jeopardize the students’ journey or to take them hostage. We do not plan to disrupt the exam session. This is why we are organizing the demonstration after the exams. students and we did not act in December”specifies Adrien Rosman, community permanent Setca-Sel (free education).
All levels
The discontent concerns all levels and all types of education: basic, secondary, higher, general, vocational and qualifying. According to the unions’ first estimates, they expect to surpass the mobilization of the teachers’ demonstration in 2022 which brought together between 10,000 and 15,000 people.
“A lot of people will travel to Brussels. We have nearly 500 affiliates who will spread their actions over the two days”notes Masanka Tshimanga, community president of SLFP Enseignement.
Absence
While it is good practice to warn as quickly as possible if you will be on strike so that management can organize, teachers can still decide the same day to join the movement. When schools are affected by the strike, they must warn parents that classes will be disrupted without specifying the participants in the action. A student who does not show up to school on a strike day will have a justified absence, several managements have already indicated.
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Welcome
In general, establishments advise keeping your child at home during a strike. Schools must always remain open except during school holidays or in cases of extreme emergency (such as a health crisis). The strike is not a reason to close the doors. Schools have an obligation to provide care to children if the parents have not found a solution to look after them. “In some schools, the number of strikers will be very large and few teachers will be present to provide daycare. In this case, reception is organized to keep students from several schools. Parents are informedspecifies Luc Toussaint, community president of CGSP-Enseignement.
Secondary 1 registrations
The movement of discontent takes place at the moment when registrations for secondary 1 start. From this Monday until February 14, parents can submit the Registration Form (FUI) to the school of their first choice.
At no time will these parents be prevented from accessing the school if there are union actions, assure the unions. Likewise, non-strikers will be able to enter the school. However, it is safer to avoid January 27 and 28 to bring the FUI.
