"We had a situation of serious precariousness for 70 teachers at that school and what we did was an agreement to provide job stability to these teachers and ensure that they are treated equally with other teachers, which was not the case and has not been the case for two years", Fernando Alexandre told journalists, after meeting with the union structures representing teachers.
The negotiation aimed at a proposal for a diploma relating to the extraordinary external competition for the selection and recruitment of teaching staff at the Portuguese School of Luanda (EPL).
"The first meeting with the unions aimed to listen to the unions in the process of approving a decree-law that aims to launch an extraordinary competition with great urgency for the Portuguese School of Luanda", he said.
The EPL, created in the 80s, was until 2021 managed by the Cooperativa Portuguesa de Ensino em Angola (CPEA), 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 supervised the institution since 2006, although the school was managed by a private entity that had a management contract with the State.
When CPEA administration was transferred to the Portuguese State, there was no transfer of the teachers' employment relationship and, in order to continue teaching, teachers had to sign a new contract, losing benefits and remuneration, which the majority accepted.
Fernando Alexandre assured that the Portuguese Government gives "great importance" to Portuguese schools abroad, namely the EPL, where "more than 2000 students study, where there are many Angolan students and also children of Portuguese, children of Portuguese staff who work in Luanda, in Angola, where they are in companies, which have a very important connection" with Portugal, and it is necessary to "make sure that this school has all the conditions to operate".
The diploma, which was generally approved by the Council of Ministers, and which will be concluded after the union hearing process, is a "very urgent" diploma to ensure that "the contracts of these teachers who end on August 31st can be integrated into the career or guarantee a stable employment contract".
The Portuguese minister stated that 10 of the 12 unions have already given their agreement to the diploma, leaving FENPROF and STOP, which were left to respond on Monday.
