Brussels gives Portugal 2 months to clarify the hiring of teachers in public schools | Ministry of Education
This Friday, the European Commission began an infringement procedure against Portugal for non-compliance with EU legislation on non-discrimination in the term hiring of teachers in public schools, having given the Portuguese government two months to respond.
According to a press release from the European Commission, Portuguese legislation provides for less favorable employment conditions for fixed-term teachers working in Portuguese public schools than for permanent teachers, namely in terms of salary and seniority.
Contracted teachers, even if invited to teach for 20 years or more, always earn the same, which currently goes just beyond 1000 euros net.
Brussels revealing concerns based on the principle of non-discrimination, arguing that European Union legislation, namely the framework agreement annexed to Council Directive 1999/70 / EC, provides that differences in treatment are only allowed if the former are justified by reasons objectives.
The community executive maintains that such justification does not exist in Portuguese legislation, which also does not provide for measures approved to prevent abuses that may result from the use of successive employment contracts or fixed-term employment relationships applicable in the territory of the Azores.
Portugal now has two months to correct the deficiencies identified by the Commission, under penalty of moving on to a second stage of the procedure, with the sending of a reasoned opinion.
It was by imposition of the European Commission that, as of 2015, nearly five thousand contract teachers entered the framework. This was done under the so-called brake-regulation, instituted by former Education Minister Nuno Crato in order to comply with a European directive that prohibits the abusive use of fixed-term contracts.
Currently, under this rule, contract teachers need to have three successive full contracts in full to enter the career. But this is a difficult threshold to reach, since due to the various methods of hiring teachers, who can undergo contracts of just a few months and with less than 22 hours of classes per week, a teacher will have to have accumulated a contract for many years. before guaranteeing the requirements to enter the career.