Buenos Aires teachers reject 17.8% hike offer

Buenos Aires province teachers unions rejected Buenos Aires Governor Daniel Scioli’s 17.8 percent wage hike offer yesterday, causing the salary adjustment negotiations to get even more heated.

FEB teachers union leader Mirta Petroccini stated that the negotiations had “taken a turn for the worse.” The offer made by Buenos Aires provincial Education Minister Nora de Lucía and Labour Minister Oscar Cuartango was 17.8 percent, which would begin with a 12 percent increase in March and finally reaching 17.8 percent by December.

The unions will march in protest today to the Buenos Aires province office in the City and tomorrow will hold an audience to decide what further measures they will take.

Before the meeting, SUBETA teacher’s union Secretary-General Roberto Baradel said that they would request a “30 percent increase.” Baradel had stated that they had no idea what the government’s offer was going to be but were open to discussing the proposal, and that they may strike on Monday and possibly Tuesday depending on what they decide in the teacher’s union meeting tomorrow. But he hoped that things would be fixed by then.

The teacher’s union groups and Buenos Aires provincial authorities had met last Thursday but government officials had refrained from making an offer then, which led to a 48-hour strike at the beginning of this week.

— Herald with Ambito.com, DyN