The issue of teachers of indefinite duration was discussed on Wednesday by the Education Committee of the Parliament, discussing the proposal for a law tabled by the AKEL-Left-New Forces parliamentary group in relation to "safeguarding the labour rights of permanent teachers". The issue, it was reported, concerns around 500 permanent teachers.
In a statement after the session, deputy chairman of the Education Committee, Chrysanthos Savvidis, said that as DIKO they have a number of questions on the issue, which they have submitted to the Committee and that they are waiting for answers from the Legal Service.
"After all these answers to our reasonable questions come in, then we will have a concrete position on it. Of course, we stand by the fact that there are no two-tier teachers," he added.
DISY MP George Karoullas,[/B] said in a statement that in the Education Committee today we discussed the issue of permanent teachers.
"An issue, which has been of concern to stakeholders and education for years and we recognize that there are issues open, which must be resolved. That is why the Government has included indefinite-term teachers in the Pension Bill, which will be tabled in the coming days in the House of Representatives for debate and final passage, and has also equated leave with other teachers. Issues that have been of concern for years and this government has moved towards regulating them in the most formal way by institutionalising them," he added.
As he said, today they had to discuss AKEL's proposal, which included the previous issues he had mentioned.
"The new appointment plan, which was passed by this Parliament in 2015 and AKEL voted abstention at the time and in 2017 opposed the regulations for the implementation of the relevant bill, is aimed at quality in education. With the system of examinations, with the marking system to select the most suitable teachers on the basis of the list of appointees to be able to teach," he added.
He said, in addition, that they recognise the work and role of permanent teachers.
"At the same time, however, we say that AKEL's proposal circumvents the new appointment plan, the list of appointees. It creates conditions of unequal treatment as it essentially abolishes the criterion of a written examination for a teacher candidate to remain on the list of appointees and, in the end, contains elements of unconstitutionality," he noted.
He said the issue is serious and a dialogue should be initiated to regulate all the issues which remain pending.
In a statement, AKEL MP Christos Christofides said that the debate on the proposal for a law tabled by the parliamentary group AKEL-Left-New Forces in relation to safeguarding the labour rights of permanent teachers began today in the Education Committee of the Parliament.
"We currently have around 500 permanent teachers for whom the following applies: They cannot be removed from the system, that is, they cannot be dismissed and another teacher can do their job because they are permanent teachers, but at the same time, they work for many, many years as second-class teachers. They do not have the same pension rights They do not have the same rights in terms of leave, and there is a huge discrimination compared to permanent civil servants," he added.
In other words, he said, "we have legislation which sets out specific rights for all public sector employees who are permanent and much less for permanent teachers."
"At the same time, the legislation as it stands today does not guarantee the right of permanent teachers not to be dismissed for redundancy purposes as is the case with civil service workers. This mess, this injustice, is what our proposal comes to correct. The Government say that they have made some decisions both in terms of leave and in terms of pensions in the new proposal, which they are expected to make. Where we believe that there is no problem to approve this legislative proposal and not by Cabinet decisions but legislatively to correct a huge injustice that exists," he added.
He noted that through the discussion today something else has emerged, "which we have been warning about all the previous years: that with the abolition of the list of appointees in 2027, serious imbalances will be created in the appointment system."
"And one of the issues is that on the appointment list, permanent teachers, while on the one hand they cannot move, on the other hand they will be obliged at regular intervals to attend examinations." Summing up, he said, the proposed law comes to tidy up "an unacceptable situation, which prevails today and concerns 500 people and their families on the one hand, but also concerns the improvement of the situation in our education system, in our schools, in this sense concerns the entire society".
In a statement, DPA Co-operation of Democratic Forces MP Alekos Tryfonides said that they would study AKEL's proposal.
"It has various aspects. We had previously submitted some proposals on this issue, immediately after my election to the Parliament. There will be cooperation with the other forces to secure the teachers," he concluded.
Source: CNA
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