On July 5, CAUT president Tom Booth wrote to Gustavo Noboa, president of Ecuador, condemning a violent police assault on the national headquarters of the National Union of Educators (UNE) and the arrest and imprisonment of the union president. UNE represents most of the teachers in the schools and universities in Ecuador. The Ecuadorian teachers had been on a full-scale strike since May. CAUT called for the immediate and unconditional release of all imprisoned National Union of Educators leaders and a respect for the labour rights of teachers and all other workers in Ecuador. The text of the letter follows. ­ ed.

I am writing on behalf of the Canadian Association of University Teachers which represents 30,000 academic staff members at universities and colleges across Canada.

We are deeply troubled that your government arrested Professor Aracely Moreno Silva, president of the National Union of Educators (UNE) following a violent police assault on the UNE national headquarters on June 21 at the end of a meeting of the UNE's National Council.

The arrest of Aracely Moreno and the violent police assault on the UNE headquarters violates constitutional guarantees and fails to recognize the parliamentary immunity Professor Moreno enjoys as an alternative representative in the National Congress. Her jailing adds to the equally unconstitutional arrests of other UNE leaders, such as Ernesto Castillo (president of the Guayas province section of UNE), and Carlos Medina (former national president).

These actions contradict your government's public declaration that it is open to dialogue. The teachers' strike has been about restoring wages to their 1999 level and suspension of the new Education Law that indirectly encourages privatization and directly eliminates teachers' job security and other labour rights. We urge the immediate and unconditional release of all UNE leaders and a respect for the labour rights of teachers and all other workers.

Tom Booth
President, Canadian Association of University Teachers