1. Education International CEE Round Table 2010
Education and the Economic Crisis

2. Education and the Economic Crisis
Introduction: Education and solving the crisis
What is the origin of the crisis?
Financial systems and lack of regulation
Governments and intergovernmental institutions
Who is responsible for solving it?
Who has the power to solve it?
Governments and intergovernmental institutions - IMF/EMF/World Bank
Local/Regional Authorities

3. Education and the Economic Crisis
Importance for union leaders of retaining an education perspective
Education/teacher unions cannot solve the economic crisis on their own
Spokespersons must separate their personal responses as citizens from their responses as education union leaders
Education unions are not political parties forming the opposition to the government
They are champions of teachers and education services

4. Education and the Economic Crisis
Democratic Governments and local/regional authorities respond to democratic pressures
Answerable to the public
Responsible to the public
Influenced by the public and civil society organisations, including trade unions
Susceptible to public lobbying

5. Education and the Economic Crisis
International Financial Institutions are remote and undemocratic and answerable for the most part to their own governors only
- governors may be chairs of national financial institutions, such as central banks or Ministers or former politicians
-unions should identify and seek to influence individuals
EI and ETUCE seek to influence the institutions directly

6. Education and the Economic Crisis
What is our role as Education Unions?
Promote and defend education services and members interests-salaries, pensions, working conditions
Seek to influence governments and local and regional authorities which provide and fund education services
Seek to influence the financial institutions
Cuts are not inevitable – they are the result of political decisions

7. Education and the Economic Crisis
How to pressurise Governments and local/regional authorities to protect education
Focus on the core issues for teachers and education
Promote investment in education as a public good –
good for society
good for children and the future
good for employment
good for economic growth

8. Education and the Economic Crisis
Promote high quality education
Emphasise the impact education has on the lives of children/students
Emphasise the importance of education meeting the needs of all children/students
Emphasise the importance of quality in education
Emphasise education for all and life-long learning
Emphasise the role of high quality teaching and well-motivated teachers

9. Education and the Economic Crisis
Emphasise the negative effects which reductions in the numbers of teachers have on school services
Emphasise the damage of cutbacks to the education on identifiable children and students
Illustrate what the loss of services will mean to individual schools as well as to the system as a whole
Explain the consequences of cuts in practical and realistic terms

10. Education and the Economic Crisis
The messages should be positive – negativity is de-motivating
They should be easy to identify with
They should be designed to build solidarity between teachers and with other potential supporters
The objectives should be realistic – they should not demand too much of the physical and financial resources available

11. Education and the Economic Crisis
How do we do this effectively!
Communication –
Plan a strategy with targets and a timescale
Choose objectives carefully
Target the audience for your messages
Keep the messages simple
Stay on message

12. Education and the Economic Crisis
Use direct and indirect methods of getting messages across –
Articles in newspapers
Radio and TV programmes
Advertising
Promotion activities
Posters
Electronic: texting, s, internet and social media
Political lobbying

13. Education and the Economic Crisis
Highlight the positive
Celebrate the successes of education
Quote the international statistics which support your messages
Personalise messages
Where possible use non-aligned supporters to reinforce the messages

14. Education and the Economic Crisis
Build Alliances/Partnerships
Parents
Student representative bodies
School authorities
Employers bodies
Other trade unions and trade union centres
Civil society organisations
Find supportive politicians and public representatives

15. Education and the Economic Crisis
TRADE UNION ACTION
Recognise the problems
Be seen to negotiate
Seek compromises
Be prepared to justify your messages with credible research, explanations and experience
Have answers prepared for the difficult questions

16. Education and the Economic Crisis
Establish a recognisable identity for the union by using a small number of spokespersons for the union who repeat the same core messages at every opportunity
Reinforce the messages by getting support from spokespersons from other unions/organisations with the same or similar messages

17. Education and the Economic Crisis
Industrial action is generally only effective in engaging support for a campaign among union members and activists– the public response tends to be negative
Industrial action and disruptive demonstrations generally lose public support
Strike action should be, and be seen to be, a last resort – it is a weapon to be used judiciously
The higher the bar is raised by industrial or strike action the more difficult it is for a government, employer or union to compromise
Industrial or strike action makes it easier for the government or an employer to turn the public against the union which may be portrayed as selfishly pursuing its own interests

18. Education and the Economic Crisis
Peaceful demonstrations may
- Involve parents, school authorities and civil society organisations
- Engage public interest
- Avoid unnecessary disruption
- be innovative and interesting

19. Education and the Economic Crisis
Try to build a public consensus
-supporting the view that education needs more, not less, financial support
- that good education services are essential to the well-being of society and to economic recovery
- that good teachers are essential to the provision of education services
- that salaries, pensions and conditions must be attractive to recruit good teachers and to retain them in service

20. Education and the Economic Crisis
The Success of your work:-
Will ensure that education makes a major contribution to solving the economic crisis in your country, and
Will achieve the objectives of protecting and promoting the interests of your members and of the education service