Teachers at the Portuguese School of Mozambique (EPM), in Maputo city, began a two-day strike today, from the 27th to the 28th of this month, to demand better and unequal working conditions for more than two decades. 

The "equity" protests had already been announced about a week ago. They are coordinated protests between Portuguese schools abroad, which are also observing strike days for the same reasons.

"This strike is not just at the EPM, but at all the EPMs abroad. It's happening simultaneously in Mozambique, Luanda (Angola) and Dili (East Timor)," said Antero Ribeiro, a teacher and representative of the group of 22 protesting EPM teachers.

In a video to which we had access, the professors, dressed in black T-shirts with slogans like "forgotten, ignored and undervalued", lament the structural inequalities and discrimination experienced at the EPM.

Interviewed by MZNewsOne teacher revealed that there are 'children and stepchildren' in the class, with some receiving up to double the salaries of their peers in the same category.

The source said that the Portuguese government's promises to resolve their concerns have still not been resolved, and the group fears Portugal's political uncertainties, considering that the current Executive will soon be leaving office.

The teachers recognize that the EPM Board does its job of addressing and reporting their concerns, "but only as far as it can". In fact, it's at the level of the laws that we need to change in order to standardize the conditions of Portuguese teachers.

"The school board is limited. There is no legal document that states the conditions of Portuguese teachers abroad. We're in a legal vacuum at the moment," said Ribeiro, pointing to the Portuguese Ministries of Education, Public Administration and Finance as possible solutions to the problems.