Transfer rights for secondary school teachers: SEW/OGBL obtains improvements

During a recent meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Children (Ministère de l’Education nationale, de la Jeunesse et de l’Enfance – MENJE), a SEW/OGBL delegation exchanged views on transfer rights for part-time teachers.

Secondary school teachers with part-time work (e.g. colleagues who have to limit their working hours for health reasons, but especially women who reduce their working hours after the birth of a child) are currently facing discrimination compared to their colleagues with full-time work, if they wish to transfer to another school. For the SEW/OGBL, the decisive criterion should be the seniority of service, not the number of teaching hours.

The SEW/OGBL is also calling for an end to the discrimination suffered by supply-teachers at this level.

Several concrete results emerged from the meeting with the Ministry.

According to Ministry representatives, SEW/OGBL’s demand for a real right to transfer for part-time teachers will be implemented. This is an important step in our commitment to greater equality.

It is intended that, in future, the actual need for vacant hours in a secondary school will be announced during the transfer procedure, so that even part-time teachers can apply for these posts. Here, SEW/OGBL’s demands regarding criteria will be taken into account as far as possible: status, seniority and exam results will in future be decisive for the allocation of the post, and not the number of teaching hours. A proposal to this effect has been announced by the Ministry.

The Ministry has also announced that it is responding positively to the SEW/OGBL’s demand for the introduction of a right of transfer for supply-teachers. A specific transfer procedure will be established for this group of teaching staff. This should meet the SEW/OGBL’s demand that “chargés” can remain at their school if they complete the “fonctionarisation” procedure after 15 years’ service or more.

The only drawback is that there is no provision for a transfer procedure for teaching staff at International and European Schools. The SEW/OGBL will maintain its demand that these teachers should also benefit from a right of transfer in order to be able to apply for vacant posts in International or European public schools.

Press release from the SEW/OGBL secondary department
March 15, 20