“Without parity there is no beginning,” read as a hashtag the poster that the Unter leadership placed in front of the table of authorities at the Extraordinary Congress that was held yesterday in Villa Regina, where a new teaching strike of 48 hours until next week.
The measure of force – which will be the Tuesday, July 2 and Wednesday, July 3– was defined around 9:15 p.m., after a long day of deliberation, in response to the lack of a call from the Government, after the rejection of the last offer of fixed sums.
It was also resolved that If there is no call for joint meetings, the restart of classes after the winter break is at risk.which is scheduled for July 22.
The strike vote was by majority. It was a definition that was predicted before the meeting of the representatives of the 18 sectionals in the Upper Valleybecause unrest grew among education workers the previous week, given the hardening of the government position, which decided to apply strike discounts and not pay the sums offered in the salaries that will be paid next week.
The modality of unemployment prior to the winter holidays and the return of the recess with forceful measures was the other discussion that was outlined last night after resolving next week’s strike, before the winter holidays.
On these days, The Government carries out the liquidations of state employees for the payment of salaries. Teachers will receive their salaries on Wednesday, July 3, along with the half bonus, and there the single day unemployment discountthe one corresponding to June 14 because the second 24-hour strike, last Wednesday, which would be carried over to July salaries, was not included in this liquidation.
The Executive, when announcing the joint payment of bonuses and salaries in the first days of July, reported that it will disburse 37,181,384,316 pesos in salaries in the educational sector.
The 18 Unter branches met at the SUM of School 370 in Regina. The initial agenda included an analysis of the national and provincial situation and defining the actions to follow, “given the lack of a call for collective bargaining.”
The Unter congressmen arrived yesterday at Villa Regina with mandates to continue forceful measures with new strikes before and after the winter break, due to the lack of a new salary offer from the Government, after the non-remunerative fixed sums per teacher that was proposed on June 12.
In Congress, there were positions to stop for 48 and 72 hours in the next few days and the non-start of classes after the winter holidays was also debated, which was conditional if there is no call from the Government.
Unter and Government: growing tension
The relationship between Unter and the Government escalated in tension since the plenary session of general secretaries decided to carry out a 24-hour strike on Friday, June 14, prior to the first long weekend of the month, and then ratified another strike on Wednesday, the 19th. .
He union demands a new call for joint meetings and a superior proposal to the last one made, which included fixed sums in five scales (from 60,000 to 90,000 pesos), depending on seniority, but by agent and not by position as had been achieved in the previous two months. This scheme was described by the general secretary Silvana Inostroza as “a setback.”
Governor Alberto Weretilneck responded harshly to the Unter’s forceful measures with the announcement of a discount on unemployment days and the warning that June salaries will not be settled with the sums offered.
Last week, the Ministry of Education implemented a button for teachers to report their work attendance, something similar to what was applied last year by Arabela Carreras. This measure infuriated Unter, which called it a “revealing button.” Weretilneck also previously spoke of an irregularity in the call for the first strike on June 14 because no advance notice was given and it was carried out in less than 24 hours.
The union, for its part, had demanded that the Ministry of Labor sanction the Government for not complying with last year’s parity agreement since it still has 30,000 pesos pending to go to basic salaries.
Another fact that bothered Unter is that the Province decided to call a new joint meeting the previous week, on the day of its strike, of the other state unions, UPCN and ATE, to whom it maintained the proposal of fixed sums with scales and incorporated the offer to add the 30,000 pesos to the basic amount, from the November 2023 joint payment, in two payments. Those unions rejected it and would not receive the offered increase next week.
