The teachers’ trade union PDSZ will announce a national strike for an unspecified period after March 15 because talks with the government on the reform of education had failed, the union said on Saturday.
PDSZ chair Laszlo Mendrey said the five-round talks ended on Friday with a “total failure”, after the representative of the Ministry of Human Resources rejected all of the union’s compromise proposals.
Once a final court decision is made on the minimum level of services required, the union will announce the date when the strike is to be started, he said. The union does not want to disturb preparations for the March 15 national holiday, so the strike will be held after that, he added.
According to PDSZ, 66 percent of teachers and two-thirds of the public consider the government’s education reform unacceptable, so they are expected to support the strike, he said.
Commenting the announcement, the State Secretariat of Education said that the strike would not serve the interests of teachers.
The Ministry of Human Resources presented several proposals for a compromise but PDSZ rejected all, it said.
The state secretariat noted that five of the six teachers’ unions, including the biggest one, had reached a compromise with the government. The agreement they signed gives them a say in drafting development plans for public education and a career model for teachers, it said.
