A) World Teachers’ Day 2011 (REPORT)
On the morning of Wednesday 5th at
7.15 am the organisers gathered in ‘Freedom Park’ in Phnom Penh to start
organising for the celebration which was to include series of speeches and
march to the Ministry of Education, Prime Ministers’ Office and National
Assembly to deliver CITA’s World Teachers’ Day Petition.
From 7.30am onwards participants started to arrive
from various provinces, hundreds of teachers, parents and students came from
eighteen different provinces across Cambodia, many groups travelling for over
seven hours to make it to the event. The participation of these provincial
activities was made possible thanks to donations received from, INTO, KFTA,
AFT, EI and ILO. As they arrived participants were given the World Teachers’
Day 2011 polo-shirt which carried the theme for the day ‘Give a Voice to
Teachers’, the polo-shirt was possible thanks to the support of the ILO.
At 8.15am the participants began to organise in
the middle of ‘Freedom Park’ spreading out the banners which carried the key
messages of the day in Khmer and English. Throughout this time both uniformed
and plain-cloth police observed from around the park.
At 8.45am. Mr. Rong Chhun, President
of CITA, delivered the opening address.
Mr. Pong-Sul Ahn, Senior Specialist on
Workers’ Activities ILO Bangkok, delivered the keynote speech. The key message of his speech was
the ILO calling on the government and Ministry of Education to provide
teachers’ with union rights including the right to collective bargaining and
participation in education policy. He referred to the ILO/UNESCO Recommendation
Concerning the Status of Teachers (1966) which Cambodia has signed and called
on government to fully implement these recommendations. He also called on the
government to implement the recommendation made by World Bank in 2008 to raise
teachers’ basic salary to $150 per month.
Ms. Seng Theary, Founder of CIVICUS spoke about the important role of teachers
in society and how the future of Cambodian society requires a quality education
system in which teachers’ rights are respected.
Ms. Mu Sochu, Member of the National
Assembly said “They
[teachers] were firm with their demands. The teachers can’t survive with the
salary that they receive. They feel like they have lost their value. It is
demeaning to them and it reflects the lack of investment in the education
sector.”
CITA Provincial Representatives Ros
Tith Malay said “my $80
monthly salary is not enough to purchase goods in the market. Our salaries are
not equal to the foreign dogs you [government officials] are raising in your
houses. The low salaries force us to take money from the students. We are very
ashamed and sympathetic…for the students. We don’t want to do this, but we need
to fill our stomachs.”
Yan Chamroeun said “The goods in the market are
high, but my salary is too low, I officially earns $72 per month in my job and
this is not enough to support my family so I must have other income”
At 10.15am the participants then began their
march towards the Ministry of Education to deliver their petition. When then
reached the bottom of ‘Freedom Park’ the march was blocked by authorities who
refused to allow the march continued. The insisted that only fifteen
representatives of CITA could march to the Ministry of Education. After some
delay a smaller group of CITA representative accompanied by press and National
Assembly members continued towards the Ministry and at times there was up one
hundred participants support this stage of the event.
At 11.10am the vanguard arrived at the Ministry
building but was blocked from preceding to the main gate and again the
authorities reduced the number of people who were allowed march to the main
gate. Once at the main gate no-one from Ministry was prepared to come out and
met the group or take the petition despite having been informed of the plan.
After a waiting for more an hour and as more teachers arrived from ‘Freedom
Park’ to support the group at the Ministry some progress was made. Eventually a
senior Ministry Official took Mr. Rong Chhun inside and received the petition
from him.
At 12.15pm the group now numbering approximately
one hundred participants started towards the Prime Ministers’ office. Again the
authority blocked the group and said that they could not continue as one group
but only as two smaller groups. Upon arriving at Prime Ministers’ Office the
group was meet by a senior official who spoke briefly with Mr. Rong Chhun.
At 12.45pm the group which was now numbered
between two-three hundred participants marched towards the National Assembly to
submit the final petition and hear support speeches from members of the
Assembly.
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