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Mar. 30  2024
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Teachers rally for stronger unions, policymaking role

Hundreds of unionized teachers from across Korea staged demonstrations in Seoul yesterday, calling for measures to "normalize" public education.

Source  :  Korea Herald

Hundreds of unionized teachers from across Korea staged demonstrations in Seoul yesterday, calling for measures to "normalize" public education.

"We urge President Kim Dae-jung to set up a special presidential committee to work out steps to normalize public schools," said Lee Boo-young, head of the Korean Teachers and Educational Workers' Union (KTU), in a rally at Seoul Station.

The protesters, mostly teachers' union chapter heads, took a leave of absence from their respective schools to participate in the rallies.

Lee has been on a hunger strike since May 23, when the first government-teachers' union negotiations hit a major roadblock. Teachers' unions were legalized last year.

The two sides, which have been negotiating since March, have so far settled a majority of the 71 items on the agenda, including wage hikes.

But they remain at odds over the KTU's proposal to allow the formation of teachers' unions at individual schools and approve union activities during regular school hours. The ministry's position is that students' right to learn should take precedence over teachers' right to take collective action.

The KTU also wants authorization to participate in educational policymaking through a consultative body and allocation of 6 percent of the nation's gross domestic product for education.

The Seoul Station rally followed a gathering of teachers held earlier in the day in front of the Ministry of Planning and Budget in southern Seoul, where teachers also pressed their demand for increased spending on education.

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