In a note sent to Lusa, teachers from the School Board (QE) of the Portuguese School of Luanda (EPL), linked in an extraordinary competition on September 1, 2024, complain about the worsening of conditions and injustices and admit to leaving the EPL before the end of the school year because the situation has become "unviable".
Teachers highlight that the transition in school management that began in 2021 brought a "substantial loss of benefits and remuneration, placing these professionals in a situation of inequality compared to their colleagues in statutory mobility".
Teachers at the Portuguese School of Luanda sent a letter last week to the Portuguese Minister of Education, Fernando Alexandre, warning of the current situation and asking for an urgent update of the amount of reimbursement for living expenses in view of the alarming levels of inflation in Luanda.
Teachers complain that their net salary is significantly lower than that of a teacher in the top echelon of their career in Portugal, due to the country's taxation, "making it clearly insufficient to cover basic expenses, such as food, health, education, accommodation and transport".
They also speak of the growing discontent that has already led to other protests and highlight that due to the increase in the cost of living and the lack of effective measures, "many teachers consider it unfeasible to remain at EPL until the end of the school year".
The strike covers all teachers and workers with teaching functions who carry out their professional activity at EPL, including both teachers belonging to the School Board, under Decree-Law No. 45-B/2024, of July 12, and those who are on statutory mobility.
The EPL, created in the 1980s, was administered by the Portuguese Teaching Cooperative in Angola (CPEA) until 2021, but, as of September 7, 2021, it began to be administered by the Portuguese Ministry of Education, after a dispute with some cooperative members.
