European teachers in primary, secondary, and higher education play a vital role in shaping future generations. Yet, they face long working hours, heavy non-teaching tasks, and inadequate pay. Beyond teaching, their workload includes curriculum planning, student assessment, parent communication, and extracurricular activities, leaving little time for personal or professional growth. Low salaries in many European countries further strain their financial well-being. This project supports the European Sectoral Social Dialogue in Education (ESSDE) Work Programme 2024-2026 by equipping education trade unions to engage with employers on improving working conditions. Key priorities include fair pay, career prospects, contractual status, and work-life balance—essential steps to making teaching more attractive.

Advisory Group

  • Leonardo Ebner ETUCE Belgium
  • Rossella Benedetti UIL Scuola Italy
  • Casper Arnsbo Poulsen BUPL Denmark
  • Robert Brozd NSZ Croatia
  • Gesa Bruno-Latocha GEW Germany

Funding

This project is funded with support from the European Commission.

Complementary to the research, ETUCE will organise two main events in the course of this project. Both event will represent a training opportunity for ETUCE and its member organisations and will run in parallel to the activities of the researchers.

The training conferences will be organized in a participatory manner to encourage peer learning and the exchange of good practices. The conferences will be structured around the research hypothesis and results of the study and the contribution of the national member organisations: this is the best approach to ensure ownership of the goals of the project from the side of national trade unions while allowing for a mutual and horizontal process of information and training, under the coordination of the European Secretariat and the research team.