Teachers walk out over new job tests
Schools in 52 departments hit in joint protest over evaluations and 14,000 job losses
TEACHERS have walked out on strike today in protest at changes planned for the rentrée which will see 14,000 jobs cut and new job evaluation procedures introduced.
This is the third national strike since last September and is being supported in 52 departments with varying levels of support: from 10% on Corsica, 40% in Paris and 65% in Cher. Secondary school collèges and lycées are mainly affected.
The job cuts would see 6,550 cuts in secondary school with 5,700 in primary school primaire, including 2,500 specialists in helping children with learning difficulties.
Leading secondary school union Snes-FSU, along with FO and Snalc, called the strike in protest against the job evaluation changes and main primary school union SNUipp called a strike against the job cuts. A protest march is being held in Paris from the Sorbonne to the Bastille but SNUipp plans other marches in the provinces.
Changes by Education Minister Luc Chatel would see the school head teacher alone being responsible for job evaluations with talks every three years on salary. Previously the head teacher looked after the administrative side while the important teaching performance was assessed by a regional inspector who was trained in the subject.
