28.9.2004
Our children - the latest victims of Kinnock’s Reform*
We have heard so much about the Reform encouraging the reconciliation of work and family life, so why are our children being targeted by many cuts in the social policy of the Commission? Perhaps, because our children can’t speak out for themselves …
Let’s just consider the following examples :
- Our children are directly affected by the reduction in the Commission’s subsidy for the school canteen. Although prices have greatly increased, the quality of the food (already questionable) has severely declined. The children are now served lukewarm food on burning hot plates. The food is stuck to the plates and more or less inedible. Should we accept this or do our children also have rights?
- Our children are also directly affected by the discontinuation of the re-imbursement of the costs of the school trips. These trips which take place each year in primary school ("classes vertes", "classes de mer" and which culminate in the "classes de neige" in 5th year primary) form an integral part of the school programme and also play an essential role in facilitating the integration between the different language groups. They thus have both an educative and a social importance. However, many children will no longer be able to participate in these trips due to the cost. This year, the school has announced that the "classes de neige" will cost €930 per child. This is obviously a considerable sum of money and not all parents (especially those with more than one child) will be able to afford this. Is this the beginning of a two-tier system European School – children who will be able to go on school trips and those who won’t? Where’s the social justice in this? Also, at least 80% of children must participate in order for these trips to take place.
- And the phasing-out of the education allowance? Although officials do not pay fees as such for their children to attend the European School, they are still called upon to participate financially in their children’s education. Each year parents have to buy the text books which their children use at school and have to pay around €150 to the class teacher to cover the cost of photocopies and other material used in class. The
- education allowance was foreseen to cover these costs, and now? So much for free education being a basic right for every child…
So, why can’t the canteen and the school trips be financed by this special levy we’ve all been paying since January? Wasn’t the purpose of this levy to "finance social policy, …. and European School"?
At least, that is what we were told!
On behalf of our children we demand that the Commission re-establishes adequate subsidies for the school canteen, the education allowance and reimburses the costs for the school trips.
P.S. You may have noticed that the Local Personnel Committee (CLP) is very silent on these subjects … Are they not interested or do they just not care?
* Thanks to the Union Syndicale – the union who sold out YOUR rights during the negotiation
The contra-reform is the only solution!
