Opposition Party Supports Teachers’ Strike Announced for Start of School Year

School(BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV/DS)

The Freedom and Justice Party declared its support on Aug. 21 of the decision of the Independent Union of Education Employees of Serbia, for its members to stage a “white strike”, i.e. not enter grades in the electronic class registers on the first day of the school year, because the government had not taken adequate measures for preventing violence against teachers and workers in education.

In a statement, the party assessed the union’s decision as “the necessary act of self-defense by the teachers, until regulations and the relevant institutions protect them adequately.”

The union has announced that it would stage a “white strike” on Sept. 2 with the aim of pressuring the decision-makers into taking measures for preventing violence in schools.

According to the announcement, members of this trade union will not enter grades into electronic class registers until Oct. 11. “If our demands are not adopted by that date, all pupils will be given the grade excellent (5), which will be the only and final grades for the end of semester until the authorities still refuse to amend the regulations according to our requests,” the statement reads.