Teachers create an unprecedented union in Monaco
An unprecedented union voice. For the first time in the history of the Principality, the teaching staff has federated under an entity other than an association (There is already the Association of Monegasque School Staff (APMES)., Editor’s note): the SEM . Three letters for the Monaco Teachers’ Union.
Since its creation in the fall, the latest creation of the Federation of Trade Unions of Monaco Employees (F2SM) already includes 10% of the 594 professors working in the country, without distinction of status and nationality. And its representatives aim to reach the goal of 100 members by the end of the year.
“It is the emanation of a long-standing need: to make the voice of teachers heard in a structured way. Everything has to be done, everything has to be invented”confides, enthusiastically, Audrey Cheynut, secretary general of the SEM and teacher of Classics at the Albert-I high schooluh.
A common goal drives its members: to maintain the excellence of the Monegasque school system, which is endowed with considerable resources.
“We all have to gain from the good progress of our children’s studies. May they succeed, flourish socially at school”, pursuit of the teacher.
“Force of proposals”
In addition to the fact of weighing more vis-à-vis the Monegasque authorities, the SEM intends to be a “force of proposals “ and share with them a “constructive dynamic ” according to Emmanuelle Rose, assistant secretary general and English-conversation teacher at Charles-III college.
Over the weeks following its creation, the union office met in turn the Minister of State, government advisers – ministers, Patrice Cellario and Didier Gamerdinger, the National Council, the Directorate of National Education, Youth and Sports.
Every quarter, moreover, the SEM meets Isabelle Bonnal’s teams to bring up (and defuse) the issues and concerns raised in the field.
One of its first actions, moreover, was to take the pulse of the teaching base by sending everyone an anonymous questionnaire. “We talk about working conditions, that is to say whether the person is fulfilled or not, relations with actors in the world of education. We also tackle more technical questions on the readability and visibility of our career paths, sue Audrey Cheynut. Nearly 200 people have given us feedback, beyond our members therefore. This weekend, on will finely analyze the data. This will allow us to assess needs and prioritize actions. “
Maintain the stability of teaching teams
The SEM will also have an alert look at the stability of teaching teams in a country where seconded teachers [ils sont majoritaires] have three-year contracts, renewable indefinitely. “When we look at the situation of the French teaching staff, with deficits in certain subjects, Monaco must continue to fight to maintain these seconded workers permanently. For now, the workforce is: this results in united teaching teams, capable of planning for the long term, of creating partnerships and of carrying out more ambitious projects, Emmanuelle Rose and Audrey Cheynut argue. Without it, it would create a more regular turnover. We would lose all the stability, the trust that can be created over the long term between all the players. It would be very damaging to the transmission. “
Harassment and digital
A It should also be noted that the union was consulted in November by the National Council during the vote on the bill against harassment and violence in schools. “It is essential to have a system of referents, trained to decelerate behavior and driftsexposes Audrey Cheynut, also evokes the central question of digital. We welcome the approach and the colossal financial effort to equip all secondary school students with a digital tool. But there is a thought to be carried out with families: in terms of our practices, but also in terms of science and health. We know that screens can have a negative impact on health, in terms of fatigue and concentration. The idea is not to demonize the tools but to make them the formidable tool that it is. ” While maintaining the link between the teacher and his students.
“We all dream of a world where there is no mask”
While today in France, a large part of the teaching staff will go on strike to protest against the changes in health protocol in schools, Monegasque teachers, for their part, will provide lessons as usual.
In the Principality, therefore, no shade on the subject. “The union supports all government measures that reconcile its two fundamental concerns: guaranteeing school continuity and preserving the health of all”CV Audrey Cheynut, General Secretary of the Monaco Teachers’ Union (SEM).
During the truce for confectioners, when the Department of National Education was communicating on the vast screening campaign to come in schools, the SEM pointed out some points of improvement. He has been heard on some. “For example, we were reluctant, for reasons of liability, to allow teachers to perform tests on kindergarten children themselves.”
His position on the mask at school
Regarding the wearing of masks in schools, what is the union’s position? “We all dream of a world where the mask does not exist. But teachers are not epidemiologists. It is therefore difficult to have a stopped speech on the lifting or not of the mask in school environment, answers Audrey Cheynut. It is obvious that the mask is a difficulty for everyone, especially in small classes where it becomes an additional handicap for learning to read. We hear and share the pain this can be for children, especially migraines at the end of class. But the scientific discourse is crystal clear: the virus is contagious, it can be dangerous. And, in the classrooms, there are vulnerable people. If our government says it is better to wear a mask in the classroom, even when sitting down, then we support it. Better to be safe than sorry, especially from a virus that sometimes cannot be cured. “
A request for FFP2 masks
Recently, the union asked the authorities that kindergarten teachers can benefit from FFP2 masks every day. “These teachers work with young children who do not wear masks in class, which we understand well. They are therefore particularly exposed. FFP2 masks are the most protective and are particularly recommended for optimal protection in this period of epidemic rebound. . “
Case to follow.