Influences of education policy on the Brazilian teacher unionism

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this article is to present an analysis of the relations between teacher unionism and education policy in Brazil, revealing the determinations of this relation in the fight for the guarantee of a fair remuneration. As a result of a wider Doctoral research on teacher unionism, this text is based on the theoretical and methodological assumptions of Marxism and it is characterized by being a bibliographic and documentary study. Based on the study carried out, it is possible to indicate that the economic struggle of teachers’ unions is mediated and influenced by education policies, especially those that determine the financing (such as the Fund for Maintenance and Development of Basic Education and Valorization of Education Professionals - known by the acronym FUNDEB, in Portuguese) and the valorization of teaching professionals (such as the National Professional Salary Floor - known by the acronym PSPN, in Portuguese), conditioning the character of the struggles and the content of the demands. If, on the one hand, the approximation of the teaching unionism with the education policies represents an advance, in the sense of a legislated teaching career, on the other hand, it contradictorily conditions the unionism to the rhythm of the State policies.

Keywords:
Teachers’ Remuneration; Demands; Education Policy; Teacher Unionism