"No to division, yes to unity", "without teachers there is no education", "equity for all EPL teachers", "by fighting we are also teaching" were the phrases printed on the posters displayed by teachers at the entrance to EPL.
Teachers from the Portuguese Public Schools Abroad (EPERP) in Luanda, affiliated with the Portuguese Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, chanted in unison "same functions and equal conditions", defending equity and salary justice.
"Our demands from that time continue not to be met. What we want is to be treated equally to the rest of our colleagues at school and this is not happening, we do not have the same conditions and that is what motivates us to be here [on strike] once again", teacher Sandra Feliciano told Lusa.
At least 23 EPL teachers are in this condition, he recalled, saying that the Portuguese Government "is aware of the demands", with information and requests for meetings, but, he said, the responses that emerge "are very vague".
"And we don't know when the issue will be resolved, if it will be resolved at all," lamented Sandra Feliciano, guaranteeing a "continuous and joint fight" in favor of teachers' rights.
The strike called by the Union of All Education Teachers (S.TO.P) and which runs until Friday was also joined by teacher Wilson Fernandes Rodrigues, who asked the Portuguese Government for salary equity so he can return to work in a "more concentrated manner".
At this moment, the "salary issue needs to be reviewed and there are conditions that other colleagues who are here at the school have, because they come with these conditions from Portugal, and that, with the same functions, we do not have here", he said.
Calls for equal pay were renewed by teacher Ana Cristina de Assis, who said she was unhappy with the "unequal treatment" in terms of teachers' pay, pointing to "imbalances in pay and benefits".
"We have already sent several letters to the Ministry of Education, this is the second strike we have carried out and we are still waiting for a response from the Portuguese State, because we are tired, we do not want to be out of the classroom", he said.
The strike is a "joint effort" led by several Portuguese schools abroad (Timor, Mozambique, Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe), recalled teacher Cristina, who called for "dignity".
"We need dignity to work, but also to work for the benefit of our students, we really need this recognition from the Portuguese State", he noted, referring to the fact that students and guardians "are worried" about the strike.
In Luanda, the strike at EPL takes place after the student evaluation phase, as highlighted by teacher Carla Matilde Plácido, who said they were "forced" to cross their arms due to the lack of responses from MECI regarding the financial situation of the teachers on the staff.
The teacher described the salary that teachers receive as "demotivating", given the cost of living and high inflation in Angola, expressing "uncertainty" about whether the fall of Luís Montenegro's government constitutes a problem or a solution to the demands.
"But we would really like to have some answers, because we are not doing well financially, there is a huge inequality, we have the same work as our other colleagues, but the conditions are not the same for everyone," he said.
According to S.TO.P, the issue at hand is the fact that contracted teachers and those on the MECI EPERP staff – despite having finally obtained permanent status – face "working conditions that are inferior to those of their colleagues in Portugal and their school colleagues who are on statutory mobility".
