Classes have been cancelled on Wednesday afternoon for students in secondary schools in The Hague and environs.

26 March 2008

THE HAGUE – Classes have been cancelled on Wednesday afternoon for students in secondary schools in The Hague and environs. Teachers from 63 schools are meeting at the Plein to demonstrate. The teachers are demanding a pay increase of 15 percent, a lighter work load and more opportunities for refresher courses.

They say it is taking much too long for Education Minister Ronald Plasterk to take measures to make their profession more appealing. The teachers have the support of the National Action Committee of School Students (LAKS) and the BON foundation for better education in the Netherlands.

MPs and teachers will speak at the protest on the Plein. A debate at the Aloysius College in The Hague preceded the demonstration.

The education unions will not take part in the strike, as long as negotiations with the minister and employers are still ongoing. The largest union, the Algemene Onderwijsbond, has shown sympathy for the protestors. "We are very sympathetic to the impatience of the teachers in The Hague," director Ton Rolvink said the day before the demonstration.

[Copyright Expatica News + ANP 2008]