All the unions with representation in non-university public education in the Canary Islands -ANPE, STEC-IC, Teachers of the Canary Islands-INSUCAN, FE-CCOO, USPS, UGT, SEPCA and CSIF- have joined together to denounce the "detrimental effect" that the stabilization process will have in the Archipelago through the merit-based competition system planned at the national level, and to demand that the autonomous government "take measures urgently and protect the jobs of thousands of Canary Islands temporary workers".
The organizations offered a press conference this Thursday to warn that this procedure, as it has been designed, "not only does not give options to teachers who are working on the islands to obtain a position, but threatens to leave them without employment." "The autonomous communities have included in their public employment offers (OPE) the number of places they have deemed convenient to offer through this modality, without being guided by the criterion initially proposed by the Ministry of Education," they question.
In addition, they emphasize that "this lack of homogeneity has disadvantaged the Canary Islands, which has acted correctly and has convened the real number of places occupied by temporary staff uninterruptedly prior to January 1, 2016 (long-term stabilization rate), that is, 4,333 places"; while "many communities have only offered the places prior to 2016 that had been occupied by the same teacher, a criterion that significantly reduces the number of places." In this regard, they point out that in public education, "temporary teachers change their destination on a regular basis."
Unlike other administrations, in the public education system, one does not apply for a specific position, but participates to become a career civil servant of the State. Obtaining the position is achieved in a subsequent procedure. Therefore, the unions warn that the model will generate "excessive mobility between autonomous regions from which the Canary Islands will be harmed, since, having convened such a high number of places, it will attract more applicants from all over the country." "In other words, since it is a state-wide competition, a 'call effect' will occur in the Canary Islands that will leave teachers who have been providing services on the islands for years without options," they insist.
"Given the seriousness of the situation," the unions have reiterated their request to meet urgently with the president of the Government of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, to convey their demands and avoid the "catastrophe that this system may entail." This request was already made before the end of the last academic year, but they denounce that they did not receive a response.
