Charles: Union criticizes face-to-face work in closed schools

O Union of All Education Professionals (Stop) today repudiated the fact that the municipality of Miranda do Corvo, within the district of Coimbra, had instructed the operational assistants and education technicians to attend schools.

“ Operational assistants and technical assistants were instructed to attend their workplaces, although the schools were closed, following the warnings issued by the government and the authorities due to the storm ", criticized the trade union structure in a statement.

Confronted by the agency Lusa, the mayor of Miranda do Corvo stressed that all officials of the municipality are working, except in situations legally foreseen, as decided on Tuesday, unanimously, at the meeting of the extended civil protection committee.

For José Miguel Ferreira, the fact that the schools are closed “does not prevent workers from being at work, focused on the response to any occurrence that may occur,” pointing out that “it made no sense that some workers in the municipality are working and others are not.”.

“ I recommend a stop to demagogy, because we have firefighters and GNR, forest sappers and municipal officials prepared and available for any occurrence and then, in the same entity [autarchy], there were assistants who did not work.”.

Stressing that the municipality of Miranda do Corvo went beyond the decisions of the Government and also canceled the weekly market, José Miguel Ferreira stressed that, “even without students, there is much work to be done in schools, from organizing and cleaning spaces, besides the response to any emergency”.

For the Stop, this is an “incomprehensible and irresponsible decision, which ignores the safety and physical integrity of workers, exposing them to unnecessary movements (above all without the normal functioning of public transport) in adverse weather conditions, without any school activity that justifies their presence”.

“ These professionals also have families and children to protect. They cannot be forced to put their safety at risk to go to schools that are closed down!”, the union also supports.