ON STRIKE: Vassil Aprilov primary school in Sofia was among the first to join the teachers’ strike. The sign on the gates, ‘Stachka’ (strike), left no doubt about it. Photo: PETAR KOSTADINOV
The Sofia Echo: The Sofia Echo: BULGARIAN TEACHERS TO BLOCK SOFIA CITY CENTRE ON OCTOBER 11
A national meeting which will block the entire Sofia city centre for half a day is what the teachers’ unions have announced for October 11.
The strike committee has called on teachers, parents and students to assemble at 11.00 in front of the Council of Ministers and at 14.00 in front of Parliament, Za Grada said.
The Sofia Echo: Striking messages in Bulgaria
After a week and a half, Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev officially acknowledged the scale of the teachers’ strike, the teachers are demanding a 100 per cent salary increase. On October 3, Stanishev said that the country was faced with “a serious reality with the entire education sector going on strike”. Stanishev was speaking at a conference in Sofia entitled Second Decade of Growth: Risks and Opportunities, organised by Bulgarian newspaper Kapital and German newspaper Handelsblatt.
FOCUS Information Agency: Teachers in Bulgaria to build tent camp in front of the National Theatre
Sofia. The effective strike of the teachers in Bulgaria continues with protests and rallies in the entire state. The strike committee organized a tent camp starting at 14.00 in the park in front of Ivan Vazov National Theatre. There the protesters would collect signatures supporting their demands for higher salaries. Teachers’ protest will start at 16.30 at Nezavisimost Square in the capital. Trade Union’s demand is 100% gradually increasing of the salaries till June 2008. Minister of Education Daniel Valchev has offered a 30% hike – 10% in January 1 and July 1 and the rest 10% in two times next year, saying it did not have the funds for a bigger hike. According to Trade Union’s information more than 80 per cent of the schools and kindergartens went on strike.
The Sofia Echo: Teachers in Bulgaria: on their own
A Bulgarian village school headmaster has spoken to The Sofia Echo of his frustration at the handling of the national teachers’ strike.
Roman Bratoev, who heads the SS Cyril and Methodius school in Marchaevo outside Sofia, criticised the conduct of the Bulgarian Teachers’ Union (BTU), saying: “There is no co-ordination whatsoever among the schools about the strike.”
Follow
