European Trade Union Committee for Education

The COVID 19 outbreak is a public health crisis quite different than anything Europe has faced for many years. As education personnel and their trade unions grapple with the outbreak, we are supporting and informing member organisations in any way we can.

• Montenegro: news of the impact of the pandemic on education
• Kosovo: SBASHK demands signing of Collective Agreement and recognition of teachers’ daily work
• France: education trade unions prepared to strike for decent salaries and quality learning environments
• COVID-19: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control publishes a new study on COVID transmission in schools
• Hungary: ETUCE Member organisation calls for teachers to be among priority groups for COVID-19 vaccination
• Malta: MUT orders a strike after the government denies their request for online teaching
• UK: Education trade unions mobilised to denounce ‘chaotic’ reopening of schools, advising members not to return, prompting government’s U-turn
• Basque Country: thousands of education workers strike for a safe return to school and quality education for all students
• Reopening of schools in the Netherlands: ETUCE Member organisation AOb demands quicker testing and better health and safety measures to protect staff and students and keep schools open
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• Germany: Ensuring health and safety of teachers requires more efforts for the reopening of schools
• COVID-19: In Italy, 400 000 education workers gather for online rallies to protest for better employment and working conditions during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond
• COVID-19 : NEU report highlights weeks of unanswered questions to the government on the reopening of schools
• German-speaking education trade unions LCH, GÖD and VBE unite for a joint statement on COVID-19 and call for better digital training of teachers
• In Serbia, education trade unions mobilise to advocate for safe return to school for education personnel and students alike at the end of the school year
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• Eurydice reports on closure and reopening of schools and education institutions across Europe
• Remote but not far away: Italy’s FLC-CGIL takes trade union organising online
• Unions in Belgium and Germany join school community voices to demand careful reopening
• In Denmark DLF works hard so that the health and safety of education personnel is protected in back-to-school policies
• In Malta MUT works with government and social partners to guide education system through crisis
• Hungarian trade unions protest plans to force education personnel off public sector contracts
• As France cancels exams, SNES-FSU demands a solution fair to students and teachers
• Spain's FECCOO calls for government action on teacher recruitment
• In Germany VBE insists that lawmakers must consult teachers on COVID-19 legislation
• Teachers in Serbia make education work despite the crisis
• SBASHK supports education staff in Kosovo with the challenges of digital teaching
• ETUCE calls for coordinated and rational measures
• Nordic education unions join forces with public authorities to fight pandemic
• NEU helps staff in England and Wales stay safe and negotiate with leadership
• Russia’s ESEUR holds online Congress in shadow of COVID-19 outbreak
• Romania’s FSLI offers psychological support to teachers
• Albanian education union uses technology to reduce impact of COVID-19
• Estonia shares digital education tools for distance teaching and learning
• Latest information on the closure of schools and other education institutions

• COVID-19

• Latest Updates

A new draft law in response to the COVID 19 pandemic in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) will have an impact on schools and teacher training – the German education union VBE says teachers need to be included in the decision-making.

The bill, which is to be passed in the state parliament this week, “enables the Ministry of Education to react to various scenarios that may arise from the dynamics of the situation. This is understandable and pragmatic in the current situation. However, these decisions should be made with the involvement of practical experience as far as possible", says Stefan Behlau, state chairman of VBE NRW. VBE is a member of Education International.

New degree awards and examination regulations

Behlau added that proposed changes to procedures should be made in close coordination with teachers. “The aim must be to achieve a broad consensus both on decisions concerning transfers and on the paths taken to award official degrees. It must be clear that, in addition to the important issues concerning final examinations and the Abitur (German A-levels), the school education of all pupils is also at stake."

Teacher training

The union has warned about the mind-term effects of the crisis on teacher training and retention. "Corona also has an impact on the training of teachers. It is in everyone's interest to enable the currently affected teacher trainees to obtain a valid qualification without too many disadvantages, but also without any loss of quality. After the crisis, these teachers will continue to be urgently needed - perhaps even more urgently than ever before."

What comes after the crisis?

Behlau stresses that there will be lessons to be learnt from the crisis, especially when it comes to the school and education sector. “The question of education in the digital world is likely to gain an additional facet and undergo further development, which we will accompany with our usual constructive and critical approach," says the VBE regional chairman.

Get in touch

The ETUCE Secretariat sends solidarity to all teachers, academics and other education personnel and their education trade unions as they react to and tackle this unprecedented crisis. We invite ETUCE member organisations to inform the ETUCE Secretariat about the challenges you face, how you are responding, which good practices you have developed and can share with colleagues, as well as your needs for support from the ETUCE family. Contact ETUCE at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

This article was initially published on Education International's COVID-19 dossier.