Updated to Thursday 5/23/2024 14:11hs
The government of Maximiliano Pullaro announced this Wednesday that from now on, all forceful measures carried out and adhered to by state workers and teachers in the province will be deducted from salaries. The news was communicated through a press conference held early in the morning by the Ministers of Education, José Goity; and Government, Fabian Bastía. What’s more, Bastía clarified that this Thursday’s national strike will not be discounted to teachers who join “because there was not enough time” to communicate the decision. But he confirmed that in the future, all strikes, regardless of their origin, will be discounted.
“The discount (for the national strike this Thursday) will not be applied because the government failed to communicate it. This is a government that does what it says. We found out about the strike at the time we were making the offer salary within the framework of the provincial parity – he explained -. It seemed to us that interfering with announcements at that time was not the most prudent thing to do; there was no time to communicate the decision and on that basis this day will not be discounted.
But immediately afterwards, he reiterated that “from now on, any adhesion to a national or provincial strike or of any kind that is carried out, will be discounted.” The official based the decision by maintaining that “education is defended, and all the questions that can be asked are made with the children at school.”
“Loyalty”
At the close of the conference, Bastía was consulted about the questions that officials of the current administration raised against the previous one, precisely because of the decision to discount the days.
“That is a problem with the previous government. We do what we say. We warn and say what measure we are going to apply; we act with great loyalty. We do not surprise anyone. Proof of this is that since we did not communicate the decision, “Today is not going to be discounted,” he reiterated. “This is a government that keeps its word.”
Specifically asked about members of the current administration who had criticized Omar Perotti for discounting the day, Bastía responded: “We have to look at the conditions under which the discount was given; what were the conditions with which the teachers were treated, and what place education occupied in that management. For us it is a supreme value,” he concluded.
Award and trust
In turn, Goity clarified that although the day will not be discounted for those who join the national teaching strike this Thursday, the absence will impact the collection of the Perfect Attendance Award. For this reason, he justified the implementation, once again, of the system of sworn statements that teachers must complete if they worked normally during the day.
The minister once again defended the “reliability” of the affidavit system. “It is absolutely true; it is an instrument that is common and that the Ministry has been using for a long time. It is a valid, traceable, consistent and reliable mechanism. A teacher who takes office signs up for the competitions and does so through this same tool,” he exemplified.
– Can the Ministry verify whether the teacher who completed it actually went to work? Or do you appeal to the sincerity of the teacher? – El Litoral consulted.
– We know what an affidavit is; Teachers know what it means to sign it and they do it in a lot of situations.
– What happens if they detect that the teacher lied? – asked another colleague.
– (Bastía) But falsifying a document is a very serious offense…
See also“The Government is indebted to education”, unified claim of the teaching unions prior to the national strike -But how is this eventual falsehood detected? -she insisted-
– (Bastía) There are mechanisms… What happens is that we are often accustomed to the disvalues and we do not start from the value.
– (Goity) I want to reflect on this… Teachers do not lie; There may be some teachers who commit excesses or lie, but they are the exception. And there are mechanisms to validate these exceptions; We, a priori, trust the teacher. And those errors or falsehoods that may exist, we will consider them and we will evaluate them accordingly. But we cannot be suspicious of the teacher. Teachers are our safeguard; They are the ones who form our children. Therefore, we must trust them.
– If they trusted the teachers, they would not have implemented presenteeism… – a colleague asked.
– The attendance award is an incentive for teachers who have extraordinary performance, and we said it clearly. There are some who might not take a leave of absence but do. But most teachers are in the classroom. We want to support and support teachers in the classroom. They must be given material recognition so that not everything remains discursive.
