"Right now there is psychological terror from Cabinda to Cunene, from Luau to Lobito, among teachers. They send SMS, phone calls, notices, summonses, in short, we are gathering all the evidence and we are also denouncing to international institutions, including the ILO, where Angola has a seat, that Angola is violating Convention 87, of the free exercise and union freedom", denounced Guilherme Silva, president of Sinprof.
In a press conference, where he announced the suspension of the strike that started last Wednesday, Silva said that teachers are being threatened with absences and that the employer is making maps, surveys, calling people, which he considered to be " a psychological way for teachers to return to school by force".
"That's what they are doing in the sense of being subjugated, as if we were slaves and the teachers already understood. At this moment, the fear shield is gone, we have the courage and, above all and above all, the Constitution of the Republic and the law in our favor", he stressed.
Guilherme Silva accused the Ministry of Education of "systematically violating the law", through provincial offices and municipal education directorates, "suffocating teachers with documents, with processes, with SMS".
"And we have all this evidence, we are gathering all the evidence and in due course we will position ourselves", he indicated.
A document from the Ministry of Education addressed to the governor of the province of Cuanza Sul and shared on social networks requested directors and provincial secretaries of Education to control employees, based on article 4 of the Strike Law, and proceed with the salary discount corresponding to the days of stoppage of classes to those who joined the strike.
From the perspective of the Ministry of Education, the declaration of strike decreed by Sinprof breaks the memorandum of understanding signed between the parties to be in force until January 2023 and ignores the efforts and openness to dialogue in the resolution of the claimed issues, some of which are being treated by other ministerial departments.
The claim notebook, initially with 10 points that summarize the main problems of the sector, was submitted by Sinprof to the Ministry of Education, in October 2019, and in March of this year another four points were added.
According to the president of Sinprof, during the five days of the strike there was no meeting, having received on Tuesday an invitation from the Ministry of Education for a consultation meeting on Thursday.
The trade unionist appealed to the executive, through the Ministry of Education, to present concrete solutions for the claimed points in order to find a way out.
"The strike has a culprit, the culprit is the executive, because this is not new. It is up to the executive, through the Ministry of Education, to resolve teachers' issues, because what we are defending is the dignity of teachers, working conditions, having school lunches for our children, fundamentally in primary education, who go to school without eating nothing and stay there all day, without even drinking water," he said.
Guilherme Silva informed that the second phase of the strike could start on the 6th of December if until then there are no positive responses from the employer.
