Around the Globe

Image credit: Chicago Teachers Union

United States: Educators push back against Trump

Educators across the US are pushing back against a wave of policies from the administration of President Donald Trump, whose education agenda focuses on privatisation, dismantling the Department of Education, attacking immigrant students and families, eroding civil rights, and limiting academic freedom.

“In the United States, we face an authoritarian threat unlike anything we have seen in our lifetimes,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). “President Donald Trump is swiftly implementing destructive, dehumanizing, and undemocratic dictates.”

Since taking office on 20 January 2025, President Trump has introduced a series of measures including policies that have cut federal funding for students with disabilities, allowed immigration raids near schools, targeted educators over how they teach history, slashed research funding, and reduced support for school lunches for vulnerable students.

Reference: United States: Education unions denounce Trump’s attacks on students, teachers, schools, academic freedom, civil rights, public education, democracy, and even school lunches for vulnerable children, Education International, 12 February 2025.

United Kingdom: Gender pay gap widens

Shocking figures released on International Women’s Day reveal a growing gender pay gap for head teachers in the UK, a trend that’s worsened over the past 13 years.

The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), the union representing more than 49,000 head teachers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, reports a gender pay gap of over ?8600 annually for head teachers (about $A17,700), with a nearly 6 per cent increase in the past year alone.

“We have seen a major erosion of school leaders’ pay over the last decade, but for women there has been a ‘double hit’ that must be tackled,” said Paul Whiteman, NAHT General Secretary. “The gender pay gap plagues every part of the education sector, but for some areas of leadership it has now grown so wide that it is a chasm.”

These damning gender pay gap figures serve as a stark reminder that, even in a profession dominated by women, true equality remains elusive, despite considerable advancements worldwide.

New Zealand: Teacher aides fight for equity

Teacher aides are considering legal action against the Ministry of Education under the Equal Pay Act due to a recent review revealing a pay disparity of up to 17% compared to men doing work of equal skill and value.

In 2020, an initial pay equity settlement significantly improved the financial situation of teacher aides at the time but has since been eroded by the rising cost of living.

NZEI Te Riu Roa, the union representing teacher aides, emphasises the need for the government to uphold its commitment to equitable pay and acknowledge the crucial, often unseen, work they perform in supporting students.

Watch this space as teacher aides engage in nationwide discussions in the coming weeks to determine their next steps, including the potential for legal action, to ensure their professional expertise is valued and that they achieve genuine pay equity.

Reference: Teacher aides for pay equity to be upheld on International Women’s Day, nzeiteriuroa.org.nz, 8 March 2025.

Vanuatu: Teachers continue strike

In June 2024, more than 1000 teachers across Vanuatu walked off the job, demanding their budget be managed by their employer, the Teaching Service Commission, rather than controlled by the Director General of the Ministry of Education and Training.

On 19 June, the strike was called off after an agreement was reached requiring the government to come up with a plan on how it will pay entitlements. The industrial action resumed in late August after negotiations failed.

More than six months on and despite continuous negotiations between the Vanuatu Teachers Union (VTU) and the government, more than 600 teachers remain on strike as a resolution remains elusive. Following a snap election in January 2025, newly elected Prime Minister Jotham Napat has pledged to resolve the strike as a top priority.

In mid-June 2024, IEUA Assistant Federal Secretary Veronica Yewdall joined the Secretary General of the Council of Pacific Education (COPE) and representatives of Pacific education unions at a COPE Executive meeting in Port Vila, Vanuatu.

Representatives from the Solomon Islands National Teachers’ Association, the Samoa National Teachers’ Association, the Fijian Teachers Association, the Australian Education Union and the New Zealand Post Primary Teachers’ Association were at the meeting.

The COPE Executive coincided with industrial action by members of the VTU. While Veronica and her colleagues were already scheduled to attend training with the VTU, they were able to meet with VTU’s Secretary General Jonathan Yona to express solidarity with those taking industrial action.

“The IEU continues to follow the situation and respond to requests from COPE regarding expressions of solidarity and financial support for our VTU colleagues,” Veronica said.

“Engagement with COPE and supporting teachers in Vanuatu is a natural extension of the IEU’s commitment to solidarity and social justice.

“It is also key to developing a strong network of education unions in the Pacific, collaborating to improve the working lives of teachers and ensure equitable education outcomes for all.”