The Democratic Teachers’ Union of the Azores (SDPA) expresses its “repudiation” and “condemnation” of the content of the draft resolution presented by Chega, which recommends that the regional government create a “mechanism to combat fraudulent leave.”

On Saturday, the SDPA General Council unanimously approved a vote of protest against the content of the draft resolution, which had been approved by the proposer and the coalition parties (PSD/CDS/PPM) in the Azores Legislative Assembly.

“The SDPA does not condone any kind of illegality and has always defended the competent supervision of matters relating to education. In this specific case, the statements included in that draft resolution, which refer to kindergarten teachers and teachers in the Azores, are considered demagogic, discriminatory, without justification and an attack on the dignity of teachers in the region,” the union said in a press release.

The union leaders regret that “other parties with seats and political responsibilities in the ALRAA have joined this initiative”, but “have not taken any action on the implementation of services to promote health and safety at work,” as the law dictates and as the SDPA has been demanding “for many years, with the Education Ministry and the various political forces.”

The union “vehemently repudiates any attempt to devalue or discriminate against education professionals and reaffirms its commitment to defending the value of kindergarten teachers and teachers in order to build quality education for all Azoreans.”

In Diáio Insular-José Lourenço-director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.