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12el Periòdic d’Andorrawww.elperiodic.ad DIMARTS, 10 DE JULIOL DEL 2018

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E N G L I S H E D I T I O N T U E 7

After the disagreements cau-sed within the union and with the Ministry of Edu-cation and Higher Educa-

tion following the last announce-ment made public by the Andor-ran Public Education Union (SEP), the management of the organizati-on left meet with the Government to explain themselves and reach an agreement. This was announced by the president of the SEP, Anna Mun-dó, in EL PERIÒDIC. In the context of resuming the agreement with the Administration, Mundó explained that they are currently working to-gether on the basis of a “staff com-mittee” for the modification and va-lorisation of the regulations of the temporary stock exchange: “This it is working very well because it is true that the temporary stock exc-hange had entered a very static dy-namic and that the eventual com-munity did not like it. With the con-tributions that are being made, the regulation is becoming much more enforceable and it will be able to res-pond to issues that we have been se-

MARICEL BLANCH

33 A teacher teaching last year.

The SEP and Education regulate the regulations of the temporary stock exchangeThey are also preparing to return to school in September from three scenarios: normal, mixed and telematic

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EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY

ficials do, among other things. Right now, this issue is very opaque. «

She also added that she considers that the pandemic situation has not affected or will affect the temporary workers in a positive or negative way: «Next year the same number of temporary workers will be needed, perhaps more, depending on the groups to be the needs of students. But before yesterday, the school ye-ar ended and today we still don’t know if we will have a job next year. This happens every year. Sometimes they call us that we are still at the end of the school year, but this ye-ar, we assume that due to the pande-mic, it has lengthened. This situati-on of emotional uncertainty is very hard. «

BACK-TO-SCHOOL SCENARIOS / The SEP and the Ministry of Education are al-so in constant contact for the prepa-ration of the resumption of school activity in line with the start of the school year next September. In this sense, the president of the union ex-plained that it works from three pos-

sible scenarios: «What will happen if we can go back to school, what will happen if we can not go back to scho-ol and what will happen if we have to make a mix and to combine the face-to-face activity and the telema-tics ”. Thus, she considered that «the hope is to return to normal because we need students to be in the class-room. There are a number of valu-es and procedures that require you to work in class. The teacher repre-sentative also noted that there is al-so talk of the number of students a classroom could accommodate if the return was in person. In this sen-se, and as already stated by the Mi-nister of Education, Ester Vilarru-bla, taking into account the size of most classrooms would be approxi-mately 15. However, she considered that the parameters will be adjusted as the situation, given that «it is very changing.»

MINISTRY AND UNION RELATIONSHIP / Sin-ce the schools closed on March 14, the union has also maintained con-tact with the ministry, although ac-

cording to the president «less than we would have liked.» However, she considered that «we understand that the situation was very diffi-cult.» She explained that the feeling after the peak of the health crisis is “bittersweet”: “We were not prepa-red for this, neither the ministry, nor the teachers, nor the families. We did what we thought at the ti-me would give us an immediate res-ponse without really knowing how long it would take or how we would live it. «

They are currently satisfied be-cause the work they are carrying out «is not urgent again, but we are very well organized, with very clear rules and very well trained to give the best possible answers. In preparing for the next school year we are trying to see how to train families and teac-hers and how we give them the tools they may need. We will be very grate-ful if the scenarios for next year are clearer. Thus, she stressed the im-portance of being able to work wit-hout pressure as they had to do du-ring the pandemic. H

eing for years. We are making contri-butions that are very welcome, such as the merits of the interim evalua-tion. The truth is that the response of the ministry is being very positi-ve and fast.

Mundó highlighted the fact that “the group of temporary workers has become very large. We are 300 contingents «and for this reason the fact of remodelling the proto-col that regulates the work is impor-tant for the union:» The contingents must have improvements. We are many, we are part of the educatio-nal community and we do the same tasks as others. Negotiations with the Ministry of Education are on the way to improving the employment stability of the group and their pro-fessional load. We also want to pro-mote, based on the regulations that are being drafted, transparency re-garding the eventual job market: I don’t know what position I hold or what grade I have. It needs to be fai-rer, to try to get the interim to have a voice in his career, to be able to apply for a transfer in the same way that of-

The ratio of students per classroom will be defined according to the situation related to the health crisis

«Preparing for the next school year we try to see how to train families and teachers and how we give them the tools they need»

Anna MundóPRESIDENT OF THE SEP

el Periòdic Newswww.elperiodic.ad el Periòdic NewsTUESDAY, 7 JULY 2020 13

«It is important that women are in politics and represented»MIREIA PORRAS Head of the Equality Policy Area

SFGA/CESTEVE

The head of the Equality Policy Area, Mireia Porras, assesses the manage-ment of the health crisis developed by the care service and comments on the next steps to eradicate inequa-lity in the Principality, in a post-Co-vid scenario.

–What is your assessment of the ma-nagement of the health crisis in rela-tion to the Equality Area?–Since the confinement began on March 13, we have been clear that direct care services are essential and must be open to respond. All the technicians focused on direct care, as the international community an-nounced that there would be an in-crease in cases of gender-based vio-lence. It was a good decision because there was a very large increase in ca-ses and a response was made. We al-so enabled the WhatsApp number, which will remain active along with the 181 phone and email, because the access routes to the service had to be increased.

–Have you noticed any changes be-tween the beginning of the confine-ment and the last stretch?–Eight cases have entered via What-sApp asking how to contact du-ring the months of confinement. It was used to see which medium was most comfortable for them to tell us about the situation. Before confine-ment, when they contacted us, we made an appointment at the office, but in recent months we had to do it by phone. However, if we found a ca-se that required the service of the Po-lice or give them some recourse, all the arrangements that were impor-tant were made.

–How have you been helped?–The service follows a circuit. The woman is referred by a professional, the Police, through the activation of the Lilac Code or on her own initia-tive. The risk is assessed and you are encouraged to access the reception resources, if it is very high. They are first passed on to a hotel or boarding house and then to the flats so as not to put other families at risk. On the other hand, the economic valuation is done and if we see that they need a benefit, it is activated. It includes everything: covering the basic ne-

American Summit also began to lo-ok at the labour market in relation to women because they are already affected and inequality is occurring. The health, social and economic cri-sis in Covid-19 will greatly affect wo-men and care must be taken not to end it.

–The gender pay gap is also expec-ted to worsen with the estimated economic crisis. Are they starting to come up with some ideas?–We are working and focusing a lot on the law that we are drafting because it will be the basis for star-ting to make changes and reverse inequality. This legislation, which is expected to be completed in De-cember, focuses not only on employ-ment but also on all areas where ine-quality against women is generated. For example, in work-life balance, in sports, in the media or in poli-tics, where men still occupy the po-litical part unlike women, who do not just occupy the place that would touch them. It is important that they be there because politics is the body that decides in a country and it is im-portant that women are represen-ted.

–What do you think about the coun-tries that have managed the crisis best having women as leaders?–Apart from parity, the most impor-tant thing is that these women are trained in a gender perspective, they know about gender equality and ha-ve studied a lot about the inequali-ties that women suffer. Therefore, from this knowledge that they al-ready have and that they have lear-ned, they have been able to take a more redirected approach in their country not to leave women out but to involve them. Many times we are left with enough parity and not on-ly should there be this, but training for both men and women on gender perspective and equality to analyse the country’s inequalities and crea-te measures to alleviate them.

–Would the situation have improved if the crisis had been managed with a gender perspective?–All the areas we have touched on as the Area of Equality Policies and Social Affairs have tried to do them with a gender perspective because we are trained, as well as the Secre-tary of State for Equality. H

33 The head of the Equality Policies area, Mireia Porras, at a press conference.

«The economic and labour crisis caused by the pandemic affects more groups that were already vulnerable, such as women»

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eds of women and their children; le-gal and criminal advice, in case you want to separate or file a complaint; as well as psychological support and a maternal and child psychologist to work with children.

–Is this support offered to all women? Also to those who have no papers?–Cover the basic needs because you can’t leave any woman on the stre-et or tell her that, because she has no papers, she stays with her aggres-sor suffering violence and at risk. Even less so if you have children. What they are trying to do is find a job and do the paperwork to work with them all over the circuit. An-swer has always been given in the first instance.

–On the other hand, experts warn that the biggest victims of this cri-sis are women as well as those who work in domestic work or have more precarious contracts than men. Are

you worried about that?–Yes. A lot because, really, it’s like that. Gender inequality in the work-place suffered by women, horizon-tal or vertical discrimination, still means a lot of care for others and within this care, before the Covid-19 could be much more affected than men. For example, those who are dedicated to caring for the elderly, who are a group at risk, and so. In ad-dition, the economic and labour cri-sis caused by the pandemic affects more groups that thay were already vulnerable, such as women.

–Women, social class or if they are immigrants. Some feminist associ-ations were concerned about this phenomenon because many women workers have not been able to rece-ive aid from the government. Have you worked on it with the Ministry of Social Affairs?–We focused the service and all hu-man resources on direct interven-tion in violence and reduced the risk that women were suffering. Now that we have resumed the pro-jects and protocols, one of the lines of work will be with these women to improve their situation, which has not happened suddenly for the Covid-19. It is a structural problem that all countries have. Andorra is not exempt from the gender inequa-lity it gives you in the workplace or any other.

–Can this crisis have helped to put the problem in the spotlight, now that professions that employ women ha-ve been valued?–From the area and with the Secre-tary of State for Equality and Citi-zen Participation, this is work that is being done because it is structural. That is why the Equality Law that we are drafting to make it effective be-tween women and men: to redirect all these bad practices that are being done and achieve equality between both genders in the workplace. It is true, however, that in the first mo-ment that Covid-19 began, all inter-national organizations warned that we should focus on what was happe-ning to women. At first, we focused on violence because confinement was a trigger for the gender-based vi-olence that was already taking place and we had to direct resources the-re. However, reports from the UN, the Council of Europe and the Latin