GREECE: Striking teachers were supported by thousands of public servants and students in a rally in central Athens over demands for better pay and conditions

Heated unrest over the quality of Greek education came to a peak on Wednesday (October 11) when striking teachers were supported by thousands of public servants and students in a rally in central Athens over demands for better pay and conditions. Public school teachers are into their fourth week of strikes since the school year began demanding higher wages and more funding for education, saying the government has reneged on promises for increased funding towards the sector in the 2007 budget, and has allocated badly needed funding to other sectors such as defence. The rally on Wednesday drew the support of civil servants who staged 24 hours strikes or walked off the job for a few hours at banks, public offices and transport services angry over the budget which they say does not improve workers' standard of living, including teachers, considered below European Union standards. Minor scuffles took place between demonstrators and police but there were no serious incidents. Although schools have not completely shut down, the strike has caused disruptions with striking teachers cancelling their classes for one to two days at a time. Many teachers have staged sit-ins at hundreds of schools supported by students. Talks between the government and teachers failed to put an end to the strike as the government pledged wage increases but in instalments after 2007, which protesters said were unsatisfactory. Teachers said low wages have forced them to take second jobs but the government has stood firm that it has given all it can give to the sector for the next fiscal period. University professors and students have now also joined in the protests, highlighting the serious problems concerning conditions and standards of Greek education that has plagued the sector for several years. "Our demands have been building up for several years now, but they have never been met. We cant take it anymore we have reached our limit," said elementary school teacher Argiro Aitopoulou. Besides low wages some other problems for educators and students include teachers lacking proper training, students forced to pay for extra night school classes to complete their basic studies, and the lack of proper materials and equipment to conduct lessons in classrooms. ''I think we will win this fight, we have to win, at least something, because we are not learning anything at school anymore with the way things are, we all have to go to night school now to learn something. For years now lessons are not being taught properly and we have stopped expecting to learn anything," said 16 year old high school student Kostas Kaloglos who is participating in a sit-in at his school in support of the strike. Wednesday's protest comes as the government prepares to table a bill in parliament on education that caused large demonstrations and sit-ins for more than a month in June. The government delayed bringing the bill to parliament then to call for dialogue on the draft which some university students and professors especially oppose. Government officials argue the bill will improve conditions for education but some students and teachers said it posed too much control on how institutions functioned and did not provide for more badly needed funding. Last week a teachers protest drew more than 10,000 supporters in the country's capital. Greece is under pressure to lower it budget deficit below the European Union's 3 percent cap to avoid sanctions. The rally comes as Greeks prepare to go to the polls for municipal elections on Sunday seen as a test for the ruling party's support.

ITN Source | October 12, 2006

Tags:. .pressure. .materials. .standards. .rally. .posed