European Trade Union Committee for Education

Against the background of ongoing continuous reforms in the Georgian education system, new obligations and career advancement mechanisms for teachers were defined by the state starting from 2014. Given that the vast majority of Georgian teachers received a Soviet education, modern requirements represented a novelty. To overcome the challenges faced by teachers in the process of professional growth, alongside the protection of teachers' labor, social, and economic rights, the ESFTUG (Educators and Scientists Free Trade Union of Georgia) set a second priority direction since 2014 – caring for the professional development of those employed in the pedagogical/educational system."

Accordingly, in 2014, the ESFTUG established the 'Center for Professional Development of Employees in Educational Institutions.' Subject experts of the 'Center' prepare training modules, and activities to support the professional qualification of teachers are carried out in an intensive mode. To date, the 'Center' has developed up to 80 short-term and long-term thematic training modules, which are adapted according to requirements. From the 'Center's' side, an average of 2,494 five-hour trainings have been conducted for public school teachers and employees of preschool institutions, in which 82,300 participants took part."

Furthermore, alongside reform issues, with the aim of involving teachers in the collective bargaining process, ESFTUG began organizing various large-scale conferences according to subject disciplines. These conferences provided teachers with the opportunity to express their own needs regarding the improvement of education quality, the enhancement of working conditions, and professional topics. For example  "In the process of certifying the subject competencies of educators, teachers of natural sciences showed particularly low results, which led to a decline in their authority. The ESFTUG (SPMTP) ensured a meeting between up to 900 natural science teachers and the Minister of Education and Science. Through a face-to-face dialogue, hindering circumstances for teachers were identified, such as the inconsistency of textbooks with exam tests and the requirements of the National Curriculum. Following the conference, significant changes were implemented by the Ministry of Education and Science

·In 2014, disinformation was spreading regarding the introduction of the subject 'Me and Society' at the primary level and the draft of its subject standards, which caused unrest within the pedagogical community. Organized by the ESFTUG, up to 600 teachers from social science departments of public schools across all regions of Georgia met with representatives of the National Curriculum Department of the Ministry of Education. They discussed the feasibility of teaching the subject and the draft of the subject standards. During the meeting, the ESFTUG developed a draft for a joint appeal, which was put to a vote. By a unanimous decision, the declaration was submitted to the Parliament of Georgia and the Ministry of Education. As a result, the provocations were put to an end, and from 2017, the subject 'Me and Society'—an important component of civic education—was implemented at the primary level.

Similar events and consultations with teachers were ongoing.

By 2022, the ESFTUG set a goal to involve motivated and highly qualified educators in the processes of reviewing regulatory normative acts of the reform, subject standards, and textbooks. To improve teachers' professional rights and the quality of teaching, the union defined training programs aimed at helping teachers acquire the relevant competencies necessary to ensure their involvement in collective bargaining.

To this end, in 2022, the ESFTUG created a new structure — the Advisory Council of Professional Teachers', which unites up to 90 members of authoritative-professional educators, with 2 teachers from every district of Georgia. Members of the advisory body discuss professional and subject standards, undergo trade union training, and attend 'Training of Trainers' (ToT) in professional directions. From 2022 to the present, 160 online trainings have been conducted, in which 30,000 participants took part.

The ESFTUG's Advisory Council of Professional Teachers' strengthens collegiality and solidarity among teachers by sharing successful practices. Additionally, it supports the process of authorization and monitoring of public schools. As a result, school administrations and pedagogical staffs become more aware of the role and importance of the ESFTUG.

Starting from 2025, in a pilot mode, ESFTUG is the first in the country to begin working on the topic of increasing literacy in Artificial Intelligence (AI) within education. We have begun offering trainings for school and preschool teachers. Given that ESFTUG is a participant in the ETUCE (European Trade Union Committee for Education) project, work is underway at the national level to develop initiatives for regulating the impact of AI on education. This will help us create initiatives at the national level to protect teachers' interests and ensure quality education

It should be noted that within the framework of social dialogue, through the initiatives of the ESFTUG, 22 legislative changes were implemented between 2012 and 2026. For example: compensation for a teacher's temporary disability (sick leave) based on their full salary; full compensation for a teacher's maternity leave over a 6-month period; overtime pay for a teacher's full workload; defining additional terms in the process of a teacher's career advancement; a two-stage increase in a teacher's base salary and the development of a new salary policy document; the abolition of the disciplinary proceedings norm for actions committed by a teacher outside school territory during non-working hours, and others.

Since 2014 two priority directions of the ESFTUG have shown us that thousands of teachers, educators, and other employees have upgraded their status. The support for professional development from the ESFTUG’s side has proven to be justified, leading to increased feedback, gratitude, and interest from many teachers. And the question: did the trade union movement suffer due to the colossal services provided for professional development? The answer is unambiguous: No! Because the primary goal of the education trade union is to improve the quality of teaching and learning, and to raise qualifications and motivation for the perfection of education quality. Experience shows that along with increasing professionalism, the motivation of educators to actively engage in trade union activities also grows. For us, 'the professionalism and social activity of each member raises the role of the trade union!'

Alongside professional obligations, a clear example of trade union solidarity is the sharing of experience and the conferences held for this purpose at national, regional, and school levels. Now, the ESFTUG is ready to engage at the level of each individual school through the members of its consultative council.