The teachers will meet this Thursday and Friday in assemblies to agree on future actions in demand of the reimbursement of the amount owed to thousands of educators since the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990) when their salaries and pensions were reduced. In addition, they call for an end to violence within the educational centers, improvements in services, the payment of overdue bonuses and a review of the teaching day, among other demands.

According to the president of the union, Carlos Díaz, they have been in dialogue with the Government for more than a year and a half about the multiple actions required to solve the educational crisis. “However, we still see few actions and vague responses to our request,” said a letter from the sector, read by Díaz in front of the Palacio de La Moneda.

The teachers hope that the response committed by the Ministry of Education includes concrete measures and specific dates for the fulfillment of their demands. If their requests are not met, they will call an indefinite strike.

The teachers’ assemblies coincided with the changes in the cabinet, with the Education Minister Marco Antonio Ávila being replaced by Nicolás Cataldo, from the Communist Party.

Díaz valued Cataldo’s assumption as head of the MINEDUC as positive, since he knows the sector well and because he was Undersecretary of Education and knows the score. “This should mean a change of course in order to give a greater sense of urgency to the demands,” the union leader said.

jrr/llp/npg/car