CESI calls for sufficient investments in education and teachers

At a time when teacher shortages, low salaries, and unsustainable workloads threaten Europe’s education systems, EU educational leaders and teacher representatives from across CESI's trade union membership gathered today in Brussels in the European Parliament for an event on ‘Honouring the Teaching Profession in Europe’, in an attempt flag the urgency to make necessary public investments in the teaching profession to ensure high quality education, and to ensure that the forthcoming EU Teachers Agenda, Quality Jobs Roadmap and the Pilot on European School Alliances provide solutions to ensure teaching remains a respected and future-proof profession in line with the European Pillar of Social Rights. In the context of CESI's EU-co-funded PillAct project, the event celebrated the teachers while lucidly examining the challenges they face, and proposing bold, sustainable solutions to raise the status and attractiveness of the profession.

The event opened with a welcome address by CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger, who emphasised: "Teachers are the backbone of democratic societies and Europe must invest in them not only in words but also in policy, support, and recognition."

The host of the event, Vice-Chair of the European Parliament Committee on Education and Culture, MEP Hristo Petrov, sent a strong message in support of improved working conditions for teachers and of better and more concrete investments in quality education EU-wide.

Key themes discussed further at the event included teacher well-being, fair compensation, professional respect, working conditions, digital transformation and social dialogue.

Luc Viehé (France, Spelc) described teachers’ frustration with a lack of recognition and valorisation and warned of a ‘brain drain’ if working conditions are not improved.

Marcello Pacifico (Italy, ANIEF) pointed to chronic underfunding of schools and the precariousness of the teachers in Italy: "We cannot expect excellence when teachers struggle with precarious work conditions. Precarious employment rates are very high in Italy - 25% of 250,000 employed teachers - and this with miserable salaries, currently lower than those of a skilled worker and a quarter lower than those of other public sector employees in Italy, and at the end of their careers below the European average, half that of German teachers and a third that of French teachers. There is insufficient career progression, with long-term seniority increases denied to precarious staff."

Simone Fleischmann (Germany, dbb) stressed existing teacher shortages in Germany, which will by 2035 stand at almost 50,000 teachers, underqualified teachers and mental health pressures that teachers face.

Laviniu Lacusta (Romania, Free Trade Union in Pre-University Education) addressed the educational crisis in Romania: "To ensure the right to education we cannot continue to underinvest. Too many budget cuts against teachers for less than 1% savings to the annual budget is a offence against citizens overall and it will be a cost to pay in the future."

Closing the event, Matthäus Fandrejewski (Germany, dbb), called for renewed ambition: "Teachers are the architects of our future. If we neglect them, we neglect Europe’s youth. Push for concrete reforms in education and teacher training. Defend the role of student and youth unions as key democratic actors. Advocate for a holistic approach to skills that prepares young people both for work and for active citizenship. Trade unions must adapt to accompany workers throughout their life."

By the close of the event, support emerged for concrete proposals:

1. Ensure minimum standards for teacher working donditions across EU, including in the areas of maximum class sizes, limits on non-teaching/non-pedagogical duties, and planned time for planning, collaboration, and professional growth.
2. Guarantee fair and transparent pay and career progression
3. Ensure that teacher salaries across Europe are competitive, transparently set and tied to responsibilities, also recognising mentorship, leadership, and pedagogical innovation.
4. Strengthen social dialogue in the education sectors, with more formalised and binding consultations with teacher bodies, involvement in curriculum design, and national-local cooperation.
5. Improve support for well-being and mental health support through networks of peer support and counselling, more recognition of teacher workloads and national frameworks for mental health in schools.
6. Step up investments in digital skills, resources and infrastructure, continuous training, and pedagogical support to integrate technology in education without overwhelming teachers.
7. Enhance the recognition and prestige of the teaching profession through public campaigns, including through perhaps a European ‘Teaching Prize’, national honours and media spotlighting outstanding teachers.

Following the breakfast, discussions continued at CESI with the meeting of the statutory Expert Commission ‘Education, Training and Research’. The agenda included elections for new leadership, following CESI’s last Congress – with Luc Viehé (Spelc) as new President seconded by Ettore Michelazzi (ANIEF) as Vice-President. The agenda followed with presentations of the Commission’s 2026 work programme and exchanges on how Member States are implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights. Nuria Diez Guardia from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, in charge of co-authoring the forthcoming EU Teachers’ and Trainers’ Agenda, presented EU financial and policy tools to support teachers, such as the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and the European Semester.

This event reaffirmed CESI’s commitment to ensure that the teaching profession regains its rightful place at the heart of European society – respected, valued, and equipped to prepare the next generation.

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