POED: Work stoppage withdrawn – “Any announcement for a work stoppage in schools is not merely a union action”
The decision by POED to withdraw the work stoppage scheduled for Wednesday, November 26, has brought immediate relief to thousands of parents. According to the announcement, the decision was made unanimously by the Provincial Administrative Council as a gesture of goodwill towards the ongoing process in Parliament, where the new evaluation system for teachers is being discussed.
For parents, any announcement regarding a work stoppage in schools is not just a union action. It represents an immediate disruption to their daily lives. Who will take care of the children? Who will miss work? How will the day’s schedule be rearranged from scratch? Even more challenging is the situation for families with children in different educational levels – one in elementary school, another in middle or high school. In such cases, protests multiply stress, with different organizations making different decisions on different days. Families are called upon to “fit” all of this into an already tight schedule, where every unforeseen change feels like a domino effect.
This is why the withdrawal of the work stoppage, even at the last minute, brings a clear sense of relief. Parents know that, at least for this day, school will operate normally, their children will be in class, and their daily routine will not be disrupted again. At the same time, POED publicly condemns “once again” – as noted – the failure of the Ministry of Education to submit an evaluation plan to Parliament that has been agreed upon with teachers. Additionally, it accuses the Ministry of Education and Culture of undermining institutional dialogue and refers to targeted attacks that “damage the dignity of the teaching profession.”
However, what resonates most strongly in parents’ ears is another phrase; the organization emphasizes that the strike is not canceled but postponed to the day when Parliament’s Plenary will convene for the final text of the bill.
The date has yet to be determined, and POED warns that, should the final legislation deviate from its core positions, the strike will proceed as planned. For a parent, this phrasing is not merely informative – it may also sound somewhat “threatening,” as if a permanent possibility of new upheaval looms over daily life. Thus, while tomorrow’s distress has been avoided, anxiety does not dissipate. The thought lingers in the back of their minds, “What if another announcement comes out? What if another work stoppage is declared in a few days?”
Parents do not delve into – and are not obliged to delve into – the details of the bill or how teachers are evaluated.
Parents do not delve into – and are not obliged to delve into – the details of the bill or how teachers are evaluated. What concerns them at a fundamental level is something very simple yet essential: to have stability in their children’s school. To wake up in the morning knowing that their child will go to class without needing to “rewrite” their entire day’s schedule each time. Every discussion, every disagreement, and every negotiation in education is legitimate. However, it is equally important that decisions regarding measures and protests take into account the reality of families, working parents, single-parent households, and parents with more than one child in different educational levels.
POED’s move to withdraw this work stoppage at this stage can also be interpreted as an indirect message that all these factors are being considered – at least to some extent. It does not solve the problem or erase disagreements surrounding the new evaluation system but avoids yet another ordeal for parents and children. And perhaps what is needed moving forward is for any claims and decisions in education to be built on a common denominator – that at its center must lie not only the school as an institution but also citizen-parents who strive daily to stand firm amidst all this.
