Speaking to Lusa, teacher Sandra Feliciano said that, during the five days of the strike called by the Union of All Education Professionals (STOP), which had 100 percent participation from the affected teachers (school staff), there was no response, and that "other forms of struggle are being considered, because [teachers have] to be heard".
"Nothing has been decided yet, but we will continue until they hear us," said the teacher who is part of the EPL teaching staff, made up of around 120 teachers, in different situations.
At issue is the silence of the Portuguese Ministry of Education, which, since last school year, has not kept its "given word" of "conditions of equity among teachers", that is, between those who are on mobility, who come from Portugal, and those who have been at EPL for some years and the teachers on the school staff who have now been integrated.
Having joined the school and with a different status, which added new taxes, the teachers claim that their current salary situation is even lower than what they had before, "which makes absolutely no sense", demanding equal employment and salary with their colleagues coming from Portugal.
The teachers also argue that, compared to these colleagues, there is a "big difference" in salary, because they receive, for example, a support allowance, which those on the school's staff do not have.
According to Sandra Feliciano, the targets will resort to "everything necessary, union, court", to be served.
"During the five days, everyone always joined in, there were teachers who had to join part-time, because five days is a long time and our students come first, those who really had things they couldn't fail to do and did, but everyone went on strike every day, so our participation was excellent", he stressed.
For Sandra Feliciano, the silence of the Ministry of Education means that "they are not concerned with the image of the Portuguese State nor with the Portuguese School of Luanda, much less with the teachers on the school's staff".
According to Sandra Feliciano, new actions are coming soon so that they can be heard, after the school break of almost a week.
"In March, there will certainly be things happening if we continue without answers," said Sandra Feliciano.
Lusa contacted the EPL management, which chose not to comment on the matter.
The EPL, created in the 1980s, was managed by the Portuguese Teaching Cooperative in Angola (CPEA) until 2021, but as of September 7, 2021, it began to be managed by the Portuguese Ministry of Education, after a dispute with some cooperators.
The Portuguese Ministry of Education had overseen the institution since 2006, although the school was run by a private entity that had a management contract with the State.
When the CPEA administration was transferred to the Portuguese State, there was no transfer of the teachers' employment relationship and, in order to continue teaching, they had to sign a new contract, but at the same time losing benefits and remuneration, which the majority accepted.
However, several teachers decided to go to court to assert their rights.
