WILLEMSTAD - Union DOEN has issued a warning about urgent problems in the education sector that must be addressed in the upcoming school year. The union highlights concerns regarding the annual workload standards, insufficient teaching hours, and poor working conditions, including the climate and temperature in classrooms. Additionally, DOEN calls for immediate attention to the 27-hour workweek for VSBO (secondary vocational education) and the vacation hours for non-teaching staff. The new school year begins this Thursday.
This school year, DOEN is also placing extra focus on employees who started during the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 school years, as well as on school leaders such as principals, vice-principals, headmasters, deputy headmasters, and classroom assistants. The union plans to provide more information soon about the reasons for this specific focus.
Furthermore, DOEN remains committed to addressing long-standing issues, such as the 12.5% salary reduction that still affects teaching staff, low salaries, and the overall work environment. The union has also announced its participation in the Civil Servants’ Consultation (GOA) to strengthen the fight for better working conditions.
“There is work to be done, and we are ready for it!” stated the board of Union DOEN, emphasizing that action is necessary to ensure the quality of education in Curaçao.