Teacher mobility. Ombudsman hears the Government on the need for articulation with an adequate regime for protection in the event of illness

At the start of the academic year and once the placement procedure that applied the new regime of mobility due to illness of teachers has been completed, the Ombudsman addressed an initial appraisal of this regime to the Minister of Education, requesting that he issue a statement, specifically in relation to the convenience of its integration within a suitable general framework of protection for teachers in a situation of illness.

This suggestion arises from the fact that there is no general system for protection in the event of illness adapted to the special demands of the job, which has led teachers to resort to mobility due to illness because only in this way can they possibly be able to adapt their teaching load to their state of health.

In relation to the mobility regime, and assuming its future application, the Ombudsman pointed out, in the same request for a statement of case, some aspects that are of particular concern. In particular, the requirement to present a medical certificate of multi-use incapacity (AMIM) for the purposes of ordination in the competition based on the degree of incapacity and the outdatedness of the list of illnesses to which the mobility regime is applied.

On these two points, the Ombudsman points out that the Administration’s persistent delays in granting AMIMs are well known, and that the list of eligible diseases dates back to 1989, having been drawn up then for completely different purposes.

The new regime of mobility due to illness entered into force in June, and led to the receipt of more than one hundred complaints from teachers and associations representing this professional group.

To read the request for a statement sent to the Minister of Education click here [in Portuguese only].