English: The General Secretariat of FISE (WFTU) expresses its unconditional solidarity with the mobilizations of education workers, pupils, and students across the globe.
Friday, October 23, 2026
The General Secretariat of the World Federation of Teachers’ Unions FISE (WFTU FSM), representing education workers internationally, strongly and enthusiastically welcomes the growing wave of mobilizations and strikes led by teachers, education staff, pupils, and students -in France, Spain, Albania, Belgium, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Senegal, and throughout the world- in defense of public education.
Across the globe, the education community is standing up against the methodical dismantling of public schooling, the commodification of knowledge, the ongoing deterioration of working and learning conditions, and the steady decline in purchasing power – all in the face of the rising cost of living and austerity policies imposed by governments serving the interests of capital.
- Spain: FISE expresses its solidarity with and support for Spanish teachers who, alongside pupils and students, are fighting in defense of public education. The FISE also supports the teachers’ strike, as they call for a decent salary increase, smaller class sizes, specialized support for students with particular educational needs, and an increase in administrative staff -ensuring that teachers’ workloads do not grow to the detriment of their pedagogical duties. The FISE also supports the unified general strike scheduled for November 11 in Spain, which focuses on the issue of housing.
- France: The FISE expresses its solidarity and support for pupils and students in France who, since mid-September 2026, have continued a series of mobilizations demanding safe school infrastructure, smaller class sizes, and a reform of the university admissions system—a system that exacerbates inequalities in access to higher education. The FISE also supports the national cross-industry strike called in France for Thursday, November 5, 2026, by a broad coalition of trade unions (including the CGT, CFDT, FO, UNSA, and FSU).
- Albania: The FISE supports the mobilizations of university students in Albania, who have been demonstrating since October 13, 2026, against the exorbitant cost of “public” education and related issues, while denouncing a government that has ignored their demands for months.
- Belgium: The FISE supports the mobilization of French-speaking teachers against a legislative decree that imposes a 10% increase in teaching hours at the upper secondary level without any salary compensation; the decree threatens 1,500 jobs and makes conditions for the end of one’s career more difficult. Belgian teachers are advocating for the quality of education and for support systems for the most vulnerable students. A national demonstration is scheduled in Brussels for November 23, 2026, followed by a strike across all public services on November 25, 2026, and a nationwide, cross-sector strike on November 26, 2026.
- Greece: The FISE salutes the strike of October 21, 2026, and the massive mobilizations of Greek teachers, pupils, and students, who chanted: “From Greece to France, we are fighting for free, public education.” They are protesting against the precarious state of public education, the thousands of unfilled teaching positions, and the high cost of housing. Teachers are demanding a 20% salary increase and housing assistance, given that nearly half of them live on less than 1000 euros per month. They have scheduled further action for Friday, October 30 -including new student gatherings in Athens and Piraeus- a day on which they will join the major international strike of dockworkers taking place across the globe.
- Italy: The FISE supports strikes by school staff against the Valditara reform and the Invalsi assessments, both of which threaten the quality of instruction and job security in technical schools. Italian teachers are demanding salary increases and the defense of a comprehensive education for students, in opposition to a model aligned solely with the needs of businesses.
- Portugal: The FISE expresses its solidarity with Portuguese teachers, who are conducting national strikes -leading to the closure of over 800 schools- and who have mobilized in large numbers in Lisbon to protest against the revision of career statutes, while calling for better working conditions, wages, pensions, and housing.
- Senegal: The FISE supports the unified mobilization of the “G7” -a coalition of the seven most representative education unions- in their demands for the honoring of signed agreements, salary increases, the regularization of non-civil servant teachers, and the upholding of the dignity of public education. Senegalese teachers denounce a failing social dialogue and commitments that have gone unfulfilled for years.
Governments that invest in a war economy, participate in imperialist rivalries, and harness education to serve capitalist interests are primarily responsible for the difficulties currently faced by pupils, students, and teachers in Europe, Africa, and throughout the world.
The ideological stance of the FISE is clear: it stands firmly against all those who invest in war and the exploitation of peoples. It defends the rights of education workers, pupils, and students, as well as the provision of high-quality, free, public education for all.
The FISE reaffirms that education is an inalienable human right and a fundamental public good – not a commodity. In the face of attacks from employers and the state, we demand:
- An immediate, across-the-board increase in the salaries and pensions of all education personnel, as well as the granting of permanent status to all staff currently in precarious employment.
- Massive investment in public education: the recruitment of qualified teachers, a reduction in class sizes, and the renovation of school and university infrastructure.
- Completely free education, from preschool through university, ensuring universal access to high-quality knowledge for children from working-class backgrounds.
- An immediate end to the repression -by both trade union authorities and the police-directed at teachers, pupils, and students who are engaged in struggle.
The General Secretariat of FISE calls upon all its affiliated, associated, and friendly organizations, as well as the entire working class, to step up initiatives for international solidarity.
The struggle of educators and students in Europe, Africa, and across every continent is one and the same struggle against exploitation and the dismantling of public services.
Long live international solidarity among education workers!
Public, free, and high-quality education is a right for all!
For the General Secretariat of the World Federation of Teachers’ Unions (FISE)
Affiliated to the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU FSM)
General Secretary: Drissi Abderrazzak
