Employees of support programs run by the Ministry of Education are holding a protest march outside the Presidential Palace, demanding solutions to their labor issues.
As announced, the workers gathered at PASYDY at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday and will march from there to the Presidential Palace.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Read more: Teachers Outside the Presidential Palace: What Are Their Demands?
According to a statement from the PASEY-PEO and OEKDY-SEK unions, the workers are demanding a review of unemployment benefit payments, as they have been without income for three months, as well as the implementation of legislation regulating their employment in the Ministry of Labor’s support programs.
At the same time, they are calling for job openings to be announced for workers who have not completed 30 months of service in the same program, but who have many years of service in YPAN programs that have since been terminated, and they are requesting that this prior service be recognized.
In a joint statement, the unions PASEU–PEO & OEKDY–SEK state that despite the Minister’s commitment to send a new directive to the Legal Service to reconsider access to and payment of unemployment benefits, the workers have decided to hold the protest because they have been without income for the past three months.
Consequently, the unions are calling on all employees in the Ministry of Education’s support programs to participate en masse in the rally at the PASYDY headquarters and in the march that will follow to the Presidential Palace.
They are also calling on the President of the Republic, Nicos Christodoulides, to intervene immediately and decisively to find solutions to the workers’ problems.
As the two unions report, permanent employees who have completed 30 months of service have been without any income from June until today, while fewer than 100 employees, who have not yet completed 30 months of service under the same program, have now been left without work due to a political decision.
At the same time, “in addition to the fact that the Ministry of Labor does not recognize their prior service, these employees are at risk of not even having a fixed-term contract this year, particularly in training programs, at KIE centers, and at EOS, while at the same time the Ministry of Education is approaching tenured teachers to fill vacancies through overtime work, leaving current employees unemployed.
The joint statement notes that on the remaining issues, there was indeed agreement regarding the announcement of positions at the OAP, the pilot program for a second preschool teacher in the classroom, as well as on the other programs involving fixed-term contracts and the crediting of prior work experience.
There was also agreement on simplifying and standardizing the process for obtaining permission to hold a second job, taking into account that this concerns non-permanent staff, as well as for the designation of a specific point of contact with the unions, with the aim of resolving current issues and problems.
Employees in the Ministry of Education’s support programs are demanding the immediate payment of unemployment benefits to eligible employees or a policy decision to provide 12 months of salary, the immediate implementation of legislation governing employment in support programs, and the immediate announcement of job openings for employees who have not completed 30 months of service, with recognition and credit for their prior service.
They also demand a substantive and timely dialogue between the Ministry of Education and the unions, noting that “workers have been trapped by the government’s decisions and have been without income for months.” Finally, employees in the Ministry of Education’s support programs warn that they will not accept further delays or the devaluation of their many years of service.
