Union leaders condemn political intervention
SECONDARY and technical school teachers yesterday voted against a government proposal to raise the retirement age from 60 to 63.
Secondary Schools Teachers Union OELMEK president, Iacovos Iacovou, told the Cyprus Mail that 60.07 per cent of the teaching faculty had voted against the proposal. The result had become apparent as early as 1pm but Iacovou would not confirm it until all the votes had been counted.
Just under 6,000 gymnasium, lyceum and technical school teachers cast their votes between 11am and 11.30am. The results of each institution in all districts were then faxed to OELMEK’s head offices in Nicosia.
Iacovou said OELMEK had not taken a stand on the proposal, deciding to put the question to its members to decide.
“We felt that educators had every right to decide on this very important matter,” he said.
He said the result was a clear rejection of the proposal and would be respected by the union.
“It has taken a weight off our shoulders and now, no longer dealing with the pressure of having to make a decision, we can concentrate on other matters such as reforming the educational system,” he said.
And even though yesterday’s voting took place in a climate of calm, with a few peaceful student demonstrations in some schools, tensions had started to escalate into ‘yes’ and ‘no’ camps over the past few days.
In fact Iacovou expressed disappointment that a “certain political party” had tried to intervene in a procedure “which did not concern it” and to swing the vote in favour of ‘no’. Although Iacovou refused to name which party he was referring to, Soteris Charalambous, head of another teaching movement, the Progressive Movement, said he meant AKEL.
Iacovou said: “Political parties tried to intervene and by doing so undermined educators, as if they didn’t have the maturity and judgement to know what to do or what to decide.”
He also said implications made that a decision in favour of the proposal would affect youngsters’ employment in the field of education were offensive.
“It is unfair and insulting to imply we wouldn’t care what would happen to young teachers, when we have been fighting for those young teachers for so many years,” he said.
He added: “There was no reason for such a fuss to have been made or for the media to have become involved in the matter. Other unions voted on the proposal to raise the retirement age without any dispute or bother from anyone.
“Things would have been much smoother if certain parties, which have nothing to do with education, had not tried to involve themselves in the proceedings.”
The intervention reached a point where Iacovou said he had also received word a van had been dropping off banners to students at a Limassol and Paphos school to hold during the demonstration.
He said: “There was more tension in the school sector than during the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ (of the 2004 referendum on the Annan Plan) and this is inexcusable.”
President of DIKY Andreas Iosif also criticised outside interference, saying it was “inexcusable and unethical” to try and sway OELMEK’s decision and likened the efforts to third world tactics.
But Progressive Movement leader Soteris Charalambous denied AKEL had tried to mobilise the students to demonstrate against the proposal and blamed the “inflammatory climate” at schools on Iacovou’s false claims.
In fact Charalmbous said the OELMEK leader’s claims concerning the banners only existed in Iacovou’s mind and questioned what power AKEL had over students supportive of DISY, EDEK, DIKO or other independent parties.
President of the Teachers Cooperation Pavlos Pavlou also said the claims had been fabricated to create tension and said no political party had incited teachers.
However Charalambous was criticised by the leader of the Change Movement Demetris Taliadoros for creating a climate of fanaticism in schools and said he was saddened Charalambous had not respected OELMEK’s decision to put the proposal to a democratic vote. Taliadoros also said “a specific Nicosia school” had been sent placards on Wednesday to put up ahead of yesterday’s vote.
“Demonstrators (students) should turn on the specific government that made the specific proposal which we have been called on to accept (and not turn against the teachers union),” he told CyBC.
