Sheinbaum announces 10% pay increase for teachers as unions march in Mexico City

As teachers crossed Mexico celebrated el Día del Maestro (Teachers’ Day), President Claudia Sheinbaum announced a 9% wage summation retroactive to Jan. 1 with an further 1% boost starting Sept. 1. The determination came amid a march organized by 1 of  Mexico’s largest teachers unions successful Mexico City.

Sheinbaum said she regretted not being capable to connection a higher wage raise, but noted the across-the-board summation represents 36 cardinal pesos (more than US $1.8 billion). The summation is akin to the wage bump teachers received past year.

The president besides said teachers’ contracts would see an further week of vacation.

“Since we adjusted the schoolhouse calendar, [teachers] hardly get abrogation time,” she said, acknowledging that they often enactment aft the schoolhouse twelvemonth ends, and instrumentality a week oregon truthful earlier the schoolhouse twelvemonth starts.

Sheinbaum besides confirmed she was freezing the ineligible minimum status property for teachers — 56 for women and 58 for men. Earlier this year, Congress was considering a measure introduced by the president that would person gradually raised the ineligible minimum status age.

At the aforesaid time, the dissident CNTE teachers national staged a ample march successful Mexico City that snarled midday postulation successful the capital. Police rerouted postulation successful the Historic Center successful an effort to bounds commuters’ inconvenience.

As teachers’ unions protested successful the streets, Sheinbaum presented awards to vocation teachers with 30 oregon 40 years moving successful nationalist education. (Presidencia)

CNTE members — chiefly from the states of Chiapas, Oaxaca, Guerrero and Mexico City — started gathering astatine the iconic Angel of Independence monument connected Reforma Avenue astir 8 a.m., opening their march earlier 11 and arriving astatine the Plaza de la Constitución successful beforehand of the National Palace conscionable implicit 2 hours later.

CNTE leaders are demanding a larger wage summation than was offered, amended status benefits, bigger budgets for agrarian schools and the reinstatement of teachers fired aft the arguable 2013 acquisition reform.

Shortly aft arriving successful the Zócalo, the teachers began to transportation tents successful the plaza and on adjacent streets portion calling for nationalist strikes. CNTE’s onslaught threats successful March look to person prompted Sheinbaum to retreat authorities that would person gradually accrued the mandatory status age.

Pedro Hernández, CNTE spokesperson successful Mexico City, said much dissident teachers would beryllium arriving successful coming days to articulation the protestation connected the streets of the capital.

“We person nary enactment but to strike, due to the fact that 7 years of talks with this medication and the erstwhile 1 person failed to fulfill our concerns astir our pension plan,” Yenny Pérez, person of the CNTE national successful Oaxaca, said.

While the structure metropolis expanded beyond the Zócalo conscionable 2 blocks away, Sheinbaum was feting teachers astatine the Education Ministry and handing retired the prestigious Maestro Manuel Altamirano and Maestro Rafael Ramírez awards. The erstwhile is for 30 years of service, the second for teachers with 40 years connected the job.

With reports from Reforma, El Financiero, Uno TV and Infobae