At stake, according to the students, who did not want to be identified for fear of reprisals, are the conditions of the accommodation provided, the food provided and the hours of practical training in the context of work at the weekend. They mention that in the signed agreement, practical classes should only take place on Thursdays and Fridays, which, in reality, does not happen, with students working from 7 am to 10 pm, at the weekend.
To show their displeasure with this situation, which, as they pointed out to our report, has dragged on since the beginning of training two years ago, they decided not to attend classes this Monday, demanding to be heard, together, by someone from the board from school, something they say has been refused for the time being.
At stake are about 70 students, who, as they realized, expected to find better conditions in Madeira than those that have actually been offered to them. They say they are “enslaved” and regret that no entity takes any position regarding the problem.
Some of the students live in the facilities integrated into the School of Hospitality and Tourism of Madeira, others stay in the hotel units where they are doing their internship. The latter, they point out, have to work beyond the internship hours, in order to pay for their stay.
A different version has the members of the board, who, although not wanting to make statements to the DIARIO, referring to a right of reply to be duly formalized, realized that the students unilaterally decided to skip classes, without giving reasons for this. In response, the board claims to have tried to find out what was going on, making itself available to receive two representatives from each class of students in São Tomé, something that was not accepted by the students.
Gathered outside the school, São Tomé students promise to continue their protests in the coming days, if there is no solution to the problems they complain about.