SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE December 2 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The unions ANPE, CCOO and STEC-IC have announced a strike in Vocational Training scheduled for next Wednesday to express the discontent of educators regarding the “cuts” that have been implemented in the Canary Islands concerning these training programmes due to the widespread introduction of the first dual FP course.
Following numerous discussions and meetings with the educational authorities, the three union groups believe that the proposals offered by the Ministry “are woefully inadequate and do not tackle the core issues.”
The day of the strike will be accompanied by various gatherings on the same Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
In Tenerife, tutors will convene outside the headquarters of the Presidency of the Government of the Canary Islands on Avenida José Manuel Guimerá, number 1 (Santa Cruz de Tenerife); in Gran Canaria, the gathering will take place at the Plaza de la Constitución (Plaza del Obelisco) in the island’s capital; in Lanzarote, they will assemble in front of the Yellow House of Arrecife; in Fuerteventura, at the Island Directorate of the General State Administration; and in La Palma, at the Plaza de España in the island’s capital.
The unions involved stress that since the commencement of the academic year, Vocational Training has endured a number of “significant setbacks” in the public institutions across the islands.
They jointly state that the Ministry of Education has eliminated over a hundred training cycles and reduced the hours allocated to crucial roles, such as department heads and field coordination, which has resulted in diminished organisational capacity for the centres.
ANPE, CCOO and STEC-IC consider one of the most detrimental decisions to be the removal of teaching hours allocated for tutoring in Training in Work Centres, as well as the tutoring and co-tutoring of the Dual FP.
The three organisations denounce that the Ministry unilaterally altered the conditions of the Dual FP projects granted the previous year, adversely impacting the development of their second year.
Moreover, they indicate that vital modules, such as Integration and Project, lack assigned teaching personnel, as the hours necessary for instruction have been removed from the teaching timetables.
DEMANDS TO THE ADMINISTRATION
In light of this situation, the unions regard the solutions proposed by the Ministry as “grossly inadequate”, especially concerning the current academic year, and advocate for the reinstatement of teaching hours related to company interactions that were present until this academic year.
They highlight that they are not asking for additional enhancements in the working conditions of teaching staff but rather a restoration of those that existed until last year.
In addition to the increase in teaching hours, ANPE, CCOO and STEC demand clarification regarding the distribution and functions of the group of 31 business prospectors that the Ministry intends to establish, which will represent all professional families.
HOUR COMPENSATIONS
Furthermore, they insist that hourly compensation for teachers affected by the reduction of teaching hours should not be restricted solely to the third term but also extended to the second.
Similarly, they demand that the crediting of these hours as supplementary teaching time for the eliminated hours used for developing Innovation projects should also include teaching staff from projects that, although approved, were abandoned due to the loss of those hours.
Regarding Adapted, Basic and blended FP, the unions advocate for precise clarification of the functions to which the teaching and supplementary hours of staff will be allocated, through clear instructions and specific curricular developments.
They also deem it essential that, prior to January 2025, the operational framework for the 2025-2026 academic year and an annual schedule of teaching duties, complete with corresponding timetables, be established within the negotiation forum, allowing teaching staff to have clarity on their workload from September 1 for the entire year.
ANPE, CCOO and STEC emphasise the importance of ensuring Vocational Training meets the needs of the Canarian community while guaranteeing “fair conditions” for both educators and students.
In this respect, they recall that the quality of education is intrinsically linked to the resources allocated and the rights of the teaching community, asserting that the implemented cuts “only serve to undermine an educational system that should be a cornerstone for development and equity in the archipelago.”
