Info has been passed on by a Lithuanian comrade living abroad. Solidarity text's have been requested. Strikes are far and few in this country and the significance of this struggle can not be understated. Below the May 1st Labor Union appeal is an article from Freedom (London).
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Statement of Lithuanian May 1st Labor Union on current (and rare) teachers strike.
Pass the word. Text solidarity!
"Dear all,
On November 12, teachers in 5 schools in Lithuania have declared a termless strike, following reforms in calculation of teachers‘ wages. Since then, the number of striking schools has increased to over a 100 and is still growing. We support the teachers‘ strike and call for international solidarity with their demands.
The new system of time-based wages was supposed to be a solution to the problem of teachers‘ work being highly demanding (overcrowded classes, lots of bureaucracy, emotional labour after work hours etc.) and very poorly paid (the average teacher‘s monthly salary is 520eu). However, the reform made the situation even worse, effectively lowering many teachers‘ wages and demanding them to work longer hours. The striking teachers are now demanding to set a full-time teacher‘s job standard which could not exceed 18 hours for contact work and 18 hours for other tasks per week. They also demand a 20% increase in basic wage and decrease in class sizes.
In recent years, teachers have been at the forefront of the labor movement in Lithuania, consistently demanding better work conditions using union pressure and strikes, unlike most other labor sectors. They have also been the ones most publicly shamed and pressured by the government and liberal ideologies, in addition to being internally divided by some government-loyal unions.
We discussed with the main striking union about what they thought could help them most outside of the teachers’ strikes, and they asked if we could help them with asking for international solidarity, which could both improve the strikers’ public image and encourage the striking teachers to keep believing in their fight. Therefore, we ask you to send a photo and/or short paragraph expressing solidarity with the strikers. We would share these photos and letters with the teachers and also publish them in our own article supporting the strike.
Best regards,
May 1st labour union "
@ [email protected]
http://g1ps.lt/
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Article from FREEDOM, London
Lithuanian teachers’ Ministry occupation enters second
World, Dec 3rd
"The occupation of Lithuania’s Ministry of Education headquarters in Vilnius is entering its second week and has been marked by a number of protests over the last few days. Striking teachers are vowing that they will not leave the premises until their demands have been met — marking a shift in tactics from a region with traditionally passive and weakened trade unions.”
https://freedomnews.org.uk/lithuanian-teachers-occupation/?fbclid=IwAR3vt1iHhNQY1LEeocUw_D7NZqdvQBK27fZucUOdkbJEdHjp2etKm2SKwV8