Until now, teachers had only received cloth masks from the administration. The announcement made Thursday, January 6 by the Prime Minister, promising the distribution before the end of the month of surgical masks “to all teaching staff” is welcomed by the National Education unions, who demanded it for a year and a half pto replace the fabric masks judged “uncomfortable and ineffective “.
But the SNES-FSU still deplores a delay in ignition on the part of the government: cThe masks will arrive at the end of January, certainly after the epidemic peak. It is too late, believes the union, because it is now that the number of cases is exploding. And we must not only equip the teachers, but all the staff of the establishments, underlines Sophie Vénétitay, the general secretary of Snes-FSU joined by franceinfo: lthe government forgets “the supervisors of middle and high schools, who are faced with students who are not always masked, especially when they supervise the canteen. We are going to be very vigilant: all adults in middle and high schools must be equipped with surgical masks, or even FFP2 masks. “
In addition to surgical masks, the unions do indeed want FFP2 masks, specifically for kindergarten teachers puis that children under 6 do not wear masks. The Snics–FSU, the majority union of nurses from theEnational education, so deplores finding “in the same configuration as in 2020, when there were no masks at all”, As its deputy secretary general of Snics-FSU, Sylvie Magne, says on franceinfo: “We know that the fabric mask is not sufficiently protective. We are asking for FFP2 to be provided.”
Thusday morning the prime minister said it was “not planned at this stage”. Jean Castex awaits the opinion of the High Council of Public Health on the use of FFP2 masks, while recalling that surgical masks of the FFP1 type are already “very protective”.
The unions are also calling for the return of the closure of classes as soon as a case of Covid-19 appears among the students. Exceeded since the establishment, Monday, January 3, of the new primary screening system, with three tests to be carried out in five days, hes will therefore ask for a return to the protocol applied in schools at the start of the pandemic.
A video-conference meeting takes place Thursday afternoon with the Minister of National Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer. The trade unions will also address all the outstanding questions: on tests, CO2 sensors, ventilation, etc. In short, everything that must allow urgently to secure schools, colleges and high schools.
For high schools precisely, the first baccalaureate exams are fast approaching: it’s in eight weeks, from the beginning of March. To avoid inequalities between candidates, the secondary unions are asking for a postponement of exams to June.