Happy World Teachers' Day!

Today is World Teachers' Day - when, across the globe, people are being encouraged to celebrate the work of teachers.

The irony won't be lost on teacher trade unionists like myself who will, once again, spend the day trying to support teachers who are being bullied and undermined by management - the product of a government agenda to cut funding and unfairly compare schools through tests and league tables designed to encourage the privatisation of schools.

But teachers should remember to give themselves a pat on the back today for the work that we do. Teacher trade unionists should also renew our commitment to organise across the globe to stop cuts and privatisation so that our school leavers can have a decent future and our colleagues can do their essential work with decent workload, pay, pensions and job security.

Of course, it is women teachers who often bear the brunt of the attacks and the theme of the 2011 World Teachers' Day is Gender Equality. Here's a link to a new article on "Women under siege in the age of austerity" from the 'Socialism Today' magazine.