European Trade Union Committee for Education

On 24 March 2026, education trade union representatives from across Europe gathered in Tbilisi for a full day of exchanges on how artificial intelligence is reshaping education and how unions can shape the policy landscape to protect teachers' rights, autonomy, and professional integrity. Hosted by ETUCE together with ESFTUG, the workshop focused on strengthening knowledge, analysing policy gaps, and preparing the foundations for the upcoming ETUCE Guide on advocacy and collective bargaining on AI in education.

Setting the scene

The day opened with a welcome from ETUCE and ESFTUG, followed by an introduction by Jelmer Evers and Leonardo Ebner who outlined the state of play, the aims of the workshop, and the growing urgency for coordinated union engagement on AI. Participants stressed that while AI tools are increasingly present in schools, regulation, safeguards, and social dialogue remain insufficient in many countries.

Cross-country realities: fragmented policies and uneven progress

A key session of the workshop focused on sharing national experiences and clarifying the findings of the ETUCE survey on policies and regulations. Contributions collected through the workshop Padlet show a very diverse picture across Europe.

Poland has no national regulations specifically governing the use of AI in schools. The Polish Teachers Union highlighted the lack of consultation with unions and the reactive nature of national initiatives, mostly limited to equipment and training projects without a legal framework for teachers.

The Netherlands is developing national resources including GPT-NL, a publicly developed Dutch language model, and a roadmap involving education authorities and public partners. However, regulations remain in progress and unions stress the need for clear oversight and shared guidelines.

Italy faces a fragmented and uncoordinated ecosystem, with schools regulating AI use autonomously and little national direction from the Ministry of Education.

Finland has national recommendations, often negotiated with OAJ, and local guidelines in larger cities. Work is ongoing on curriculum reform and AI literacy.

Cyprus has a national strategy, but unions highlight the need for clearer frameworks, more teacher training, and stronger attention to ethical implications, privacy and professional autonomy.

Türkiye, Serbia, Montenegro and Albania report very early stage policy environments with limited democratic debate, concerns regarding surveillance, uneven teacher preparedness, and a growing influence of commercial platforms on national agendas.

Portugal and Spain presented ongoing initiatives ranging from national strategies to union-developed resources on digital rights, algorithmic management, and training for members.

Interpreting the survey findings

During group discussions, participants examined the momentum around the European Artificial Intelligence Act and the emerging national debates. They reflected on the need for clear risk classifications, safeguards around biometric technologies, and union involvement at early stages of legislative processes. Many identified the gap between ambitious government strategies and their implementation in schools.

Towards the ETUCE Guide: needs, expectations and priorities

The afternoon focused on shaping the first elements of the future ETUCE Guide on advocacy and collective bargaining on AI. Participants called for a practical, accessible tool that reflects the realities of teachers' work and provides clear explanations, examples of collective bargaining clauses, checklists, templates, guidance on data protection, case studies and minimum training standards.

Union responsibilities and next steps

The workshop concluded with reflections on the shared responsibility of European unions to shape the future of AI in education. Participants agreed on the need to strengthen knowledge sharing, build capacity, coordinate positions, ensure public investment and advocate for robust regulations. The discussions made clear that unions across Europe face common challenges and opportunities, and this workshop marked an important step toward a unified approach.