Solidarity with Ukrainian Teachers: Stop the Attack on Jobs and Rights

Ukrainian teachers face an unprecedented attack on their jobs and conditions. As parliament prepares to adopt the 2026 State Budget Law, proposals would abolish permanent contracts, increase workloads, cut pay and allowances, and undermine basic labour rights. These measures—condemned by Ukrainian unions—risk mass dismissals and a collapse in education quality for millions of children already traumatised by war.

The appeals below come from the Free Trade Union of Education and Science (VPOMU), the Education International, and are supported by the UK teachers’ union NASUWT. They warn of the devastating consequences of these reforms and call for urgent solidarity.

Ukraine Solidarity Campaign stands with teachers and their unions against this assault on democratic rights and dignity at work. We have delivered vital aid to schools and to teachers serving on the frontline. To impose these reforms now would be a shameful betrayal of their sacrifice.

We urge supporters to read these statements, share them widely, and join the international call to defend Ukrainian educators. Protecting teachers’ rights is essential not only for fairness at work, but for safeguarding the future of Ukraine’s children and its recovery.

DO NOT ALLOW THE EROSION OF EDUCATORS’ LABOUR RIGHTS AND THE DEVALUATION OF THE TEACHING PROFESSION

In its conclusions on the draft Law of Ukraine “On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2026,” which is being prepared for its second reading, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science and Innovation proposed adding provisions which, if adopted by parliament, would lead to a narrowing of the labour rights of teaching staff. This has rightly caused outrage among educators.

The Council of Leaders of the Free Trade Union of Education and Science of Ukraine (VPONU) in Lviv has adopted an appeal to the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Minister of Education and Science, and the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Education, Science and Innovation.

In it, they call on them to prevent the introduction of amendments to the draft State Budget Law for 2026 which would effectively devalue the role of pedagogical workers, remove them from the category of full and equal subjects of labour and constitutional rights, and at the same time inflict irreversible damage on the entire educational sector of the country.

The VPONU Council in Lviv argues this with the following points:

              1. Increasing the teaching workload to 22 hours undermines the quality of the educational process, because teachers will have less time for lesson preparation, marking, and individual work with pupils.

              2. Raising the teaching rate is essentially a hidden cut in education funding, as with the existing wage fund, the number of full-time positions will decrease, leading to staff reductions. In other words, the so-called pay rise will be achieved by increasing the workload. More working hours is not a salary increase — it is a substitution of concepts and amounts to increased exploitation of workers.

              3. Abolishing bonuses for teaching titles demotivates professional development, as it removes the financial incentive for improving qualifications and diminishes the prestige of achievements and teaching excellence.

              4. Lowering teachers’ incomes will worsen staffing, accelerate the outflow of specialists, and make it harder to attract young professionals to the field.

              5. Replacing permanent employment contracts with fixed-term ones removes job security, making teachers vulnerable to employer arbitrariness.

              6. A fixed-term contract of up to five years creates ongoing uncertainty, as each extension depends on the administration’s decision rather than solely on professional performance. A teacher studies at university for 5–6 years only to spend every one, three, or five years proving their right to work again. Clearly, this will affect young people’s desire to study education, since it places future teachers in an inferior position compared to other professions — a violation of the constitutional equality of citizens.

              7. Such contracts increase administrative dependence, which may lead to bias, subjectivity, and negatively affect both work quality and teachers’ emotional wellbeing.

              8. Permanent contracts are crucial for educational stability, ensuring continuity, trust, and long-term work with pupils. Fixed-term contracts undermine this stability.

              9. The risk of non-renewal every 3–5 years lowers the profession’s prestige, making it less attractive to young specialists.

              10. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine, in its decision No. 1-r/2023 of 7 February 2023, has already ruled that imposing mandatory contracts on teaching staff violates the Constitution. That decision applied to pension-age employees, but the current proposed changes broaden the category of workers subject to such constitutional inequality on the basis of professional affiliation.

The appeal from the VPONU Council in Lviv, signed by its Chair, Nadiya Tanasiychuk, concludes with a call on Members of Parliament to prevent a gross violation of the labour and constitutional rights of teaching staff when adopting the State Budget Law for 2026, and to reject the proposed amendments. One would very much hope that parliamentarians listen to the voice of educators.

UKRAINE: URGENT CALL TO ACTION TO STOP LEGISLATIVE CHANGES THAT THREATEN TEACHERS

Education International (EI) and the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE) is calling on all member organisations to take action to help prevent legislative changes for teachers in Ukraine scheduled for 2 December. These changes threaten the status of the teaching profession and violate international labour standards, according to the Trade Union of Education and Science Workers of Ukraine (TUESWU).

Representing almost one million professionals in Ukraine’s education and science sectors, and a member of Education International, TUESWU has informed EI and ETUCE of proposals included in the conclusions of the Parliament Committee on Education, Science and Innovation to the Draft Law on the State Budget for 2026. These measures would:

• Terminate all permanent employment contracts for teachers by 31 August 2026.
• Force mandatory transition to fixed-term contracts (1-5 years) while dismissing those who refuse.
• Increase teachers’ weekly workload, thereby resulting in the dismissal of over 70,000 teachers.
• Reduce remuneration and allowances, including seniority and professional title bonuses.
• Amend core education laws through the Budget Law, a practice prohibited by the Constitution of Ukraine.

These measures violate International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions 87, 98, and 151, and Ukraine’s commitments under UNESCO, ILO, and the Council of Europe. If adopted, they will devastate the teaching profession, cause mass dismissals, deteriorate education quality, harm millions of students, and undermine Ukraine’s post-war recovery.

Time is critical as the budget adoption is scheduled for 2 December 2025.

EI and ETUCE urge all member organisations to take the following actions:

• Write immediately to the Chair of the Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) of Ukraine demanding withdrawal of these amendments. You can use the attached template letter. Your letter should be sent to EI which will forward it.
• Copy the letter to the Ukraine embassy in your country or to the main permanent missions of Ukraine in Budapest, Geneva or Washington.
• Express solidarity publicly and support the TUESWU Statement, using the hashtags: #НІ_звуженню_прав (“NO to restriction of rights”) and ТАК_три_мінімальні (“YES three minimums”).
• Share this appeal with your networks.

For more information on how to take part to this solidarity action and support Ukraine teachers, please contact the EI headoffice.

The war in Ukraine remains an issue of great concern for the international education union community, especially its impact on teachers, education support personnel and students, undermining the whole education system in the country.

EI, ETUCE and their member organisations stand with teachers and their union in Ukraine at this critical juncture. Amid the ongoing war, safeguarding quality education is essential for Ukraine’s future.

To follow EI’s solidarity work on Ukraine and other countries facing emergency situations, please visit Solidarity in emergencies (ei-ie.org).

PROPOSED UKRAINE LAW CHANGES ARE AN OUTRAGEOUS ASSAULT ON TEACHERS’ DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS

NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union – has joined Education International (EI) and the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE) in calling for urgent international action to stop alarming changes to legislation in Ukraine that would devastate the teaching profession.

The proposals, which are set to be enacted next week, would:

•           Terminate all permanent contracts for teachers by August 2026

•           Force mandatory transition to short fixed‑term contracts

•           Increase teacher workloads, leading to the dismissal of over 70,000 teachers

•           Cut pay and allowances, including seniority and professional title bonuses

•           Amend core education laws via the Budget Law, in violation of Ukraine’s Constitution

These measures breach international labour standards, including ILO Conventions 87, 98 and 151, and risk undermining Ukraine’s post‑war recovery by destabilising its education system.

NASUWT General Secretary Matt Wrack said:

“Teachers in Ukraine are already showing extraordinary courage to keep a semblance of education alive for children deeply traumatised by war.

“To now propose tearing up their permanent contracts, slashing pay, and forcing mass dismissals is a betrayal of their courageous efforts day in day out to try and provide an education for the country’s children.

“It is an outrageous assault on their democratic rights, on international labour standards, and on the futures of millions of Ukrainian children who are already carrying the scars of conflict.

“Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper should immediately express her firm opposition to these undemocratic measures, as should governments across Europe.

“The NASUWT stands shoulder to shoulder with our colleagues in Ukraine. We demand that the Parliament withdraw these proposals without delay. Protecting the rights of teachers is vital if Ukraine is to eventually rebuild as a fair and just society.”