European Trade Union Committee for Education

• Telework challenges in education, gender equality and working conditions
• Education trade unions’ call for more involvement in EU’s next strategic framework of cooperation
• Eurasia Regional GEM Report provides new insights on teachers needs for inclusive education
• EU excludes researchers’ trade unions from the dialogue on the new ERA
• What VET teachers need for quality and inclusive initial vocational education and training
• The importance of public financial support for inclusive higher education
• The European Economic and Social Committee calls for better integration of green skills and competences into education
• COVID-19: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control publishes a news study on COVID transmission in schools
• EIGE: Horizontal gender segregation undermines quality and working conditions in the ECE
• The new European Democracy Action Plan leaves aside social partners and omits to give education a prominent role
• Education and Training Monitor Report 2020: European countries did not meet the ET2020 targets in education
• First European LGBTI Equality Strategy: a step towards a more inclusive society
• ETUCE welcomes the plan to address the digital gap and increase digital literacy
• Challenges and opportunities for teaching and school leadership in the digital area
• New reports on multilingualism: How to create an inclusive multilingual and multicultural environment at school
• New PISA 2018 Report: Investing in teachers enhances students’ achievements and well-being
• The European Court of Justice condemns Hungary for violating academic freedom and the right to education
• FRA: Covid-19 sorely impacted Roma and Travellers
• The “Child Guarantee” needs to support all children to access high quality, inclusive and free early childhood education
• New data on salaries and working conditions of teachers in the new OECD Report “Education at a Glance”
• New European Parliament working document on shaping digital education: support to teaching personnel and inclusion and equality must be central to the New Digital Education Action Plan
• Croatian EU Presidency Conference on teachers and trainers for the future: Towards the ‘New Normal’
• Eurydice: Inclusive Early Childhood Education benefits all children
• Fundamental Rights Report 2020: Limited progress in tackling discrimination and inequality in education
• A small victory for trade unions: EU Gender Pay Transparency Directive will be proposed in 2020
• On International Workers’ Memorial Day, ETUCE commemorates workers that lost their life to COVID-19
• Higher education admission procedures risk being disrupted by COVID-19 crisis
• Inclusive education policies can prevent school failure
• Eurydice reports on closure and reopening of schools and education institutions across Europe
• International Roma Day 2020: EU and Member States must invest in inclusive education to combat poverty and exclusion
• OECD TALIS results: Are teachers and school leaders valued professionals in Europe?
• More work needed to build schools inclusive towards LGBTI students and teachers
• COVID-19 : Latest information on the closure of schools and other education institutions across Europe
• COVID-19: ETUCE calls for coordinated and rational measures to protect education staff and students
• Safer Internet Day: let’s put education at the heart of online safety
• EIGE study: EU and member states must increase their attention to gender issues in education and training policies for migrants and refugees
• New EIGE report: Europe still struggling with gender segregation in education
• New PISA results show the challenges of teaching reading in a digital world
• EU Council of Ministers calls for a new approach to Occupational Health and Safety
• New FRA report shows not all refugee children in the EU have equal access to education
• International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women: Let’s speak out against violence in the workplace!
• EU research calls for more public spending on education and confirms the positive impact of trade unions and collective bargaining
• Work-life imbalance remains one of the biggest obstacles for gender equality in Europe
• Children in the spotlight on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2019
• Teacher and school head salaries: Eurydice report reveals major differences between countries and education levels
• OECD report: Vocational education and training can contribute to inclusion of young migrants
• #GirlsSpeakOut for a more gender-equal Europe!
• European cybersecurity month: Time to put an end to digital bullying in our schools
• EU celebrates 10th anniversary of the Charter of Fundamental Rights
• World Mental Health Day: Teachers’ wellbeing matters
• EESC opinion calls for more education about the European Union
• Roma people in Europe face many kinds of discrimination. Education systems need funding to respond
• World Teacher’s Day 2019: Our new risk assessment tools mean safer workplaces
• Prestige won’t put food on the table! Teachers take centre stage at the EU Education Summit
• 8th Education and Training Monitor offers a snapshot of Europe’s teachers
• School days, holidays and the academic year: annual reports reveal big differences between European countries
• EU Fundamental Rights Agency finds that migrant women are often doubly disadvantaged
• Global Climate Strike: education for the environment
• Education at a Glance 2019: a look into different educational systems around Europe
• Eurydice Report on Digital Education: Teachers need quality initial and continuous training in digital skills
• EESC: Teachers are Europe's "architects of the future"
• European Education Policy Network on Teachers and School Leaders
• Schools are ‘microcosms of the society’ but social studies still lack behind
• Attracting the best and brightest teachers key to equipping students with the necessary skills
• ILO Convention and Recommendation on violence and harassment at work becomes a reality
• International Labour Conference: EU Statement on Committee on Application of standards Republic of Turkey
• FRA: Inequalities, harassment and prejudices are on the rise across Europe
• Broad policy approach needed to combat multiple causes of gender pay and pension gap
• Refugee education: Integration models and practices in OECD countries
• 2019 Country Specific Recommendations: Still looking for the promised ‘social-rebalancing’
• “The Future Teacher” Conference 2019
• European ministers call for increased investment to language learning and more accessible early childhood education
• School-based activities to address students’ socio-economic background
• Justice & Protection for all citizens on The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia 2019
• Initial Teacher Preparation is the first step in the continuum of teacher learning
• “Step up, Speak up”: deShame project launches resources for schools to tackle online sexual harassment
• New release: A social rebalancing of the European Semester? A public sector trade unions’ analysis
• Work-Life Balance Directive adopted
• Skills forecast 2030 predicts job losses for teachers
• OECD: Teachers need to be well-equipped and supported to work in diverse classrooms
• EU Roma Week 2019: SDGs are closely linked to the needs of Roma communities
• Flexible working conditions essential for a gender-balanced future
• Right to play and participation of children essential in quality early childhood education
• Erasmus+ 2017: what about disadvantaged students and staff?
• #balanceforbetter: equal representation of women in positions of leadership for a bigger brighter future
• Brexit update: no disruption for those going on Erasmus before 30th March!
• European Commission Advisory Committee discusses the future gender equality policy in the EU
• New Eurydice Report: only few education systems have comprehensive strategies for integrating migrant students into schools
• Professional development in compulsory education: a move towards more collaboration, active participation and innovative partnerships
• ETUCE celebrates the first ever International Day of Education!
• Save the date: Early Childhood Education and Care The Nordic Way, International Conference Oslo 26 – 27 March 2019
• One step closer to gender equality in Irish higher education institutions
• ETUCE stands together with migrants on the ‘International Migrants Day’
• Celebrating the international day of persons with disabilities
• It is time to share prosperity: equal access to quality education at the core of the 2019 European Semester
• Celebrating the universal children’s day: Better education is crucial to combat children poverty
• SELFIE tool: Integrating digital technologies in education in the European region
• EU funding in the area of migration – Consultation results published: Easier financial administration and a stronger human-rights approach is needed
• Education and Training Monitor 2018 reveals only 53% of students in the EU feel “European”
• Unequal Pay Day: what factors are holding women back?
• Digitalisation offers plenty of opportunities but are girls availing of them?
• PISA report: early intervention is crucial for equitable education

Mental health is a trade union issue. Workers across Europe face mental health difficulties as a result of work-related stress, harassment, bullying or violence.

The education sector demands intense social, intellectual and emotional engagement, and workers are often under excessive pressure. Only a systematic approach can prevent psychosocial hazards in the workplace, to protect against work-related stress and its potentially devastating consequences.

10 October is World Mental Health Day, led by the World Health Organisation. The theme this year is suicide prevention, and we reflect on the lives lost to mental illness.

Education workers face a complex range of psychosocial hazards in the working environment, and these risks are the biggest cause of teacher burnout. These psychosocial hazards in the education sector take many forms: work and/or role overload; lack of support from education institutions; poor student behaviour; physical or mental exhaustion; pressure for examination results. The consequences can be devastating and even include tragedies such as suicide. ETUCE fully recognises the importance of mental health today and every day.

• Education Support Partnership, a charity that offers mental health support to anyone working in education in England and Wales, states that from 2017 to 2018 the number of teachers calling its confidential helpline rose by 35%, to 8668 cases.
• In Turkey in 2013, issue of professional stress and mental health were reported by 62.9% of education workers, with 30.7% suffering from worries and insomnia and 38.3% from a social functioning disorder.
• In Croatia just over 20% of teachers and other educational workers feel exhausted on a weekly basis. 25.7% feel emotionally exhausted during most of their working hours.
• In the Netherlands 12% of qualified education workers left the sector altogether within three years of graduation.
• In Sweden a survey by the National Agency for Education reveals that one in four teachers have seriously considered changing profession and/or workplace.

The impact is felt not just by individual teachers, but also by their schools and students. Education workers are leaving or planning to leave the sector at an alarming rate. To deal with the risk of mental health issues and burnout for teachers and education workers, education institutions must take whatever actions are necessary to support their workers and establish a safe and decent working environment.

ETUCE and its member organisations are determined to promote a systemic approach to preventing of work-related stress – and all other threats to education workers’ mental and physical wellbeing. In cooperation with the European Federation of Education Employers (EFEE) we have created Online Interactive Risk Assessment (OiRA) tools. These tools allow education institutions to evaluate risk prevention measures in the workplace, review compliance with European legislation, and develop a detailed action plan to improve.

ETUCE Director, Susan Flocken commented: “Today, on World Mental Health Day, ETUCE recalls that mental health in the workplace is a vital issue for us all, including trade unions. The education sector is an especially challenging environment, where dedicated professionals work under great pressure. We must lift the taboo around stress, burnout and mental illness. Work-related stress causes long-term suffering and human tragedies, but these could often be averted with sufficient investment in protection for workers’ wellbeing. Thorough risk assessment and subsequent action to tackle psychosocial risks must be at the forefront of these measures. ETUCE advocates for all education institutions to implement robust risk prevention systems. Now we have developed Online Interactive Risk Assessment Tools to help them comply with EU legislation on occupational hazards, which include the psychosocial risks that can provoke mental health problems. By prioritising the wellbeing of education workers, we can make careers in teaching as happy as they are rewarding.”

• For more information on World Mental Health Day, click here.
• To access our OiRA Tool for Early Childhood Education and Care, click here.
• To access our OiRA Tool for Secondary Education, click here.