That school is a crucial outpost in modern society is further proof of the fact that the compulsory Green pass for teachers has recently been introduced. Whether this is the right move by the government to tackle the pandemic in progress we leave it to the experts of the various factions to say, while we limit ourselves to silently observe the numerous reactions aroused by the August decree.
Rather, we are interested in underlining the risks that the category of teachers can run into as they would see their professional condition worsen.
Starting a war between groups of teachers in favor of and against the vaccine: such a conflict would only lead to a weakening of the category already tried by a thousand tensions and well-known stereotypes about the teaching class. The recommendation therefore consists in avoiding the temptation to shoot zero at the colleague who thinks differently, recognizing the fact that both contenders want the solution of a problem even if adopting a different strategy. To claim to have absolute reason, when we have witnessed for about two years skirmishes of fine specialists who have affirmed their irrefutable “truths” and then retract them after a few days, would be mere presumption. Undoubtedly a comforting sign is the descent into the field – albeit belated – of some unions who have considered the protection of workers’ health in their interest.
- Attention to the measures adopted to combat Covid risks overshadowing the official recognition of occupational diseases of teachers. Here trade union intervention would be extremely opportune and necessary. For about twenty years, on the other hand, we have been playing with terms such as Burnout, Work-Related Stress, Psycho-Social Risks, which perhaps precisely because they are not medical diagnoses but vague pseudosanitary allocutions, do not deserve to be treated as occupational diseases and therefore take advantage of prevention interventions. and specific indemnities. How many funds have been allocated to implement the prevention of Work-Related Stress (art. 28 DL 81/08) in the school? Zero! It may be a case, but the suspicion is legitimate.
- We are also at the beginning of the new school year and the managers – equivalent to employers – have the medical-legal duty of protecting the health of workers. The task becomes very difficult if the occupational diseases have not yet been officially recognized and the above-mentioned “non-diagnoses” are used. And if the ministry has not adopted any scientific prevention system, valid for all schools, each school head feels entitled to adopt any one as long as it is (perhaps at low cost, with questionable anonymous questionnaires, not validated, nor specifically calibrated for teachers).
- We must not forget that the national teachers’ contract itself has expired and the renewal cannot be limited to containing a miserable salary increase like the previous one. The social partners are obliged to intervene so that teachers are recognized for occupational diseases with real medical diagnoses, prevention plans and compensation. The restart of the school starts from the teacher, that is from his professional health: not understanding this truth means not having read the half-century of school that has just passed.
- Closely connected to the previous points is the social security question which cannot be neglected. It too is inseparable from the health of workers and their occupational pathologies. Since 1992, four professional reforms have taken place which have not taken into account occupational diseases and psychophysical wear and tear. Thus we found ourselves moving from one excess (baby-pensions) to another (67-year requirement of the Monti-Fornero Law).
Shooting on the school, removing funds, filling it with tasks (license, civics, school-work alternation, etc.) has always been possible precisely because of the silly stereotypes that teachers want to be happy and in good health. The time has come to tell things as they are bringing to public opinion the evidence of those data hitherto hidden by the Office III of the MEF. If it is true that – as national and international scientific studies suggest – teachers have a higher incidence than other categories for psychiatric and oncological pathologies, there is no time to waste.
The Covid issue complicates the path just traced, but a war between gangs for or against the vaccine would undermine it much more. Now we must defuse the risk of teachers wasting energy among themselves that they must instead invest in the battles that count for the category: health, welfare, contract. In the hope that the unions will not turn the other way once again.
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