School teachers leaning toward 5-day walkout

State secondary school teachers are edging toward calling a five-day strike from September 16, a few days after the beginning of the new academic year, to protest the government’s plans to put thousands of staff into a mobility scheme as part of pledges to the troika, Kathimerini understands.

Meetings by teachers’ unions across the country that ran late into Thursday night suggested that the majority of those present were in favor of a five-day walkout. It was unknown, however, what percentage of the overall number of teachers attended Thursday’s meetings and therefore the level of likely participation in next week’s planned strike remained unclear.

Speaking to Kathimerini on Thursday, the president of the national secondary teachers’ union, Themis Kotsyfakis, said that 35 of the country’s 88 local unions had convened to discuss strike action. Of the 35, 31 of the unions came out overwhelmingly in favor of the proposed strike action proposed by local factions allied with the main leftist opposition SYRIA or leftwing parties that are not represented in Parliament.

Factions allied to conservative New Democracy, socialist PASOK and the Communist Party reportedly favor less radical action and have proposed a two-day walkout.