Published 05/21/2024 16:00
Teachers’ unions with representation throughout Argentina called for a 24-hour national strike for Thursday, at all levels of education. It is the fourth measure of national teaching strength since Milei took office and the first in which all national teaching unions agree, which had also called for a strike on May 9th, in the general strike of the unions.
During Alberto Fernández’s government, the same unions did not call any national strikes for salary reasons.
The confederation will hold an event in front of the National Congress during committee meetings of the Chamber of Deputies that will address budgetary and education issues. The strike is expected to last 24 hours.
The measure had initially been called yesterday by the unions grouped in the CGT (there are 4), but hours later Ctera, which is aligned with the CTA, also joined.
Last Thursday, the main university teaching unions – Conadu and Conadu Histórico – also called a teaching strike for this Thursday, the 23rd. It was after it became known that the national government had allocated resources only for the operation and hospitals of the UBA (University of Buenos Aires).
At universities, non-teaching unions will also comply. In this way, in two days, the call for strike at all levels of education and in all provinces of the country is confirmed.
The claims
Ctera reports that they are calling a strike to demand “educational funding, a call for national teacher parity, payment of Fonid (funds from the national government to provinces to pay a portion of salaries) and an urgent salary increase for retired teachers.”
The resumption of the National Teacher Incentive Fund, which increases teachers’ remuneration through transfers from the Executive Branch to the provinces. Without the fund, teachers saw their salaries reduced by 10% to 20%, according to the union.
The National Teachers Incentive Fund was approved in 1998, during the Carlos Menem government (1989-1999). The law determines that this transfer is financed by the taxation of cars, motorcycles and bicycles. President Javier Milei repealed the legislation in March.
“Since December, Ctera has demanded solutions from the National Government and the Ministry of Education. The lack of answers caused the loss of the purchasing power of our salaries – since December there have been teachers with salaries of 250 thousand pesos -, educational defunding in all areas, provoking and deepening provincial conflicts, in the absence of the State to guarantee the minimum wage. teacher’s salary and the resources necessary for the system to function,” they wrote in a statement.
Ctera leaders also called for a mobilization before Congress for the same Thursday, when the Budget and Education Deputies Committees meet. It is “demanding the treatment of university financing and the refund of Fonid”, they said.
Meanwhile, the four national unions that report to the CGT -UDA, Amet, CEA and Sadop- will hold a press conference today, at the CGT headquarters, to announce the reasons and scope of the force measure.
“Argentina today exposes teachers’ salaries that are far from the poverty line of a typical family, which today is US$828,158. And in many cases below the destitution line, which today is US$373,474. The minimum wage discussed in the national joint venture is US$ 250 mil and has been frozen since December 2023,” they wrote from the UDA in a statement.
It indicated what is the minimum salary of a graduate teacher by province. Second to UDA, are the following: Misiones $ 250,000, Taiwan $ 280,000, Santiago del Estero $ 280,000, La Rioja $ 320,000, Catamarca $ 325,000, Chubut North $ 312,476, South Chubut $ 340,9 , Currents $ 360,000 , Mendoza $365,000, Terra do Fogo $381,133, San Juan $382,500, Salta $414,077, Between Rivers $420,000, Tucuman $425,000, La Pampa $440,000, Bs.As Province. $441,108, San Luis $442,674, Santa Fe $443,016, CABA $509,056, Santa Cruz $522,160, Chaco $514,000, Cordoba $535,000, Neuquen $559,521 and Rio Negro $620,0
Source: vermelho.org.br
