ESFTUG president Maia Kobakhidze addresses teachers and calls them to unite. See the excerpt from the letter below:
No government or an employer have ever supported worker’ unions and it is not a surprise that government tries to oppress us and will successfully continue to do so until each of our members and leaders realize the need for unity and the importance of solidarity towards one another.
It is irrelevant to talk about the problems while inside ESFTUG we have “Afifth column” that tries to hinder organizations' unity by all means. They assert that trade union president shall be the one accepted and approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia.
Obviously, we cannot agree with this requirement, as in this case, Educators and Scientists Free Trade Union of Georgia will turn into a structural entity of the Ministry and instead of protecting teachers’ interests, it will follow the directives of employers.
Our aim is to restore union’s rights determined by Constitution and Georgian Legislation. We will not accept ESFTUG to be a union where pseudo-leaders feel comfortable and get high salaries from membership dues, ESFTUG will not be an organization that will conform to employers and protection of teachers’ rights will be only its formal definition.
I consider that the main reason for the conflict inside ESFTUG is a clash between old and new mentality. For more precision I wil give you several examples: Kutaisi civic organisation acting chairperson – Khatuna Arveladze, also works as a lawyer at the Ministry of Education and Science in Imereti region and provides school directors with legal consultations and represents employers at court.
Hence, we rightfully consider that she does not have a right to occupy ESFTUG leadership position.
Chairperson of Bolnisi region at the same time worked at the Ministry’s General Inspection Department. We have regional and civic leaders who are also school directors and employees of local municipalities.
There are also cases when union leaders are employed in Educational Resource Centers and no decisions are made without their approval. These kinds of unionists hiding behind organization’s Constitution create an illusion that they struggle for organizations survival and teachers’ well-being.
Our strategy is to create a new trade union, built on commitment of teachers’ society. We express our readiness to listen to every single teacher’s opinions and suggestions to successfully accomplish union’s mission.
We should not forget that "Strength is in Unity" – is said in a letter.