Teachers' unions urge Gov't to reach agreement on salaries

With only three weeks left before the beginning of the school year in most of Argentina’s provinces, representatives from the country’s largest teachers’ unions urged the National Government to come to an agreement on collective bargaining.

Unionists from the Confederation of Education Workers of the Argentine Republic (CTERA) also said there is a need to raise the income tax floor “since more and more teachers are being forced to pay it” as salaries grow higher.

CTERA’s secretary general Stella Maldonado warned that “an agreement on collective bargaining must be reached this week, because the school year begins on February 28th in most of the provinces.”

“This is something that is put on the table whenever we discuss the salaries of state workers. It’s not a simple discussion, and it’s always an important struggle,” she explained. 

Maldonado explained that “first we made our demands. We asked for $3,000 pesos and the next day the Ministry made a counteroffer of $2,700 pesos, which we rejected because we consider it to be insufficient.”

“We must conclude negotiations this week,” she insisted, and added that in the last meeting with the Government “the Education Ministry was committed to scheduling another meeting so they could reach a better offer.”

CTERA’s press secretary, Alejandro Demichelis, said on Saturday that the Government’s proposal of a $2,700 pesos was “insufficient,” although he said he was “optimistic” about the negotiations.

Both parts are expected to continue negotiations next Tuesday.