Teachers livelihoods and positions are in jeopardy due to some newly proposed reforms.
A general school strike has been called for Thursday (May 7), with a key event: a demonstration in Piazza San Michele at 9:30 a.m., followed by a march to the Provincial School Office (USP).
The most critical point is what the unions bluntly call the "counter-reform of technical institutes ." According to the organisers, the new structure "reduces teaching hours for both core and specialised cultural subjects," introducing a degree of flexibility managed by the institutes based on "local business needs." The fear expressed is that "schools will be subordinated to corporate goals, particularly to the availability of unskilled, precarious, and low-wage labour." I
Schools would essentially be transformed into a simple "job training centres," bringing school-to-work training programs forward to 15 years and leading to a "significant and unbearable reduction in teaching positions."
On the economic and contractual front, unions denounce wages significantly lower than the OECD average (+23.4%) and the G7 average (+32.7%) . Their demand is peremptory: "recovering at least 24% of the purchasing power lost by teachers and technical-administrative staff between 1990 and 2026," as well as the establishment of a "single teaching role" to eliminate disparities between different levels of education.
Finally, the problem of precarious employment, which affects over a quarter of the staff, remains . For the unions, this situation "denies the right to work and a decent wage" and compromises educational continuity. Among the proposed solutions are the elimination of "overcrowded classes" (with a maximum of 20 students), the appointment of permanent staff with three years of service, and "the equalisation of salaries and rights of temporary workers with those of permanent staff," in accordance with the directives of the European Court of Justice.
On these very issues, the Committee of Teachers of the Technical Institutes of Lucca will deliver to the USP the 500 signatures collected to demand the immediate revocation of the reform.
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR TEACHERS and join them at Piazza ~San Michele at 9:30am