Costa Rican Students Await the End of the Teachers’ Strike.

La Asociación de Profesores de Segunta Eseñanza (APSE, or the Association of Secondary Education Teachers), is holding firm in its strike against el Ministerio de Educación Pública (MEP, or Ministery of Public Education) regarding wage discrepancies. Teachers interrupted the commemoration ceremony for Juan Santamaria today in Alajuela just as President Arias was about to speak with drums and signs demanding justice. The strike began March 31 and will continue indefinitely.

The teachers have no intention of modifying their position until Leonardo Garnier, the Minister of Eduction, agrees to negotiate. The strike began because, according to Saray Esquivel, General Secretay for APSE, the Ministry of Education only pays teachers for their 32 official lessons, and not any additional classes, which many times equal an additional 16 classes per week.

Esquivel states that APSE has more than 500 cases of underpaid teachers, and the association will no longer tolerate what they view as unfair payment and treatment. However, according to Silvia Víquez, Viceminister of Education, it is impossible to pay Costa Rica’s teachers for more than their approved 32 lessons. If they are to be paid more, investigations will be necessary to verify that all affected teachers are really giving extra classes.

Despite this official position and statement, Víquez maintains that no paperwork has been submitted to verify fuller schedules and secure teachers further compensation. She says that MEP knows that there are cases of uncompensated work, but that they are few. In addition, when paperwork is submitted, MEP will compensate teachers and give them backpay, if necessary. In fact, Víquez says that APSE has submitted the proper paperwork in the past, and MEP has paid on about 90% of the cases without a problem.

However, APSE and its teachers remain unsatisfied with teacher compensation. Their first protest occurred on February 23, 2008, when one group of secondary school teachers gathered at 10 a.m. in the Parque Central (San José’s Central Park), and marched together to the Ministerio de Hacienda (Costa Rica’s Treasury). Another group of teachers from Heredia and the Caribbean marched toward the Ministerio de Trabajo (Ministry of Labor) and la Casa Presidencial (the Presidential House), located in Zapote. The teachers’ march required police to close down several streets, causing several traffic jams around San José.

In addition to not being paid for extra classes given, APSE also says that the government excluded their secondary school teachers from a pay raise that it recently approved for workers in the public sector. Garnier, the Minister of Education, promised on April 8 to give educators an extraordinarily high salary raise, which is based on a decree in 1990, during Oscar Arias’ first presidential administration. Garnier has also offered to put together a commission that will determine within three months’ time the percentage of the teachers’ raise.

Though the Asociación Nacional de Educadores (ANDE, or the National Association of Educators) and the Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Educación Costarricenses (SEC, or the Costa Rican Workers and Educators Union) both accepted MEP’s offer, APSE has refused it.

APSE was not called or consulted about the proposed plan, and believe that their work and fight for fairer pay are being ignored, and that MEP’s promises of a commission are just words. APSE wants something concrete, though Garnier says that MEP will not negotiate while APSE is still on strike.

Many students fear the 2-week-long strike will affect their progression as it coincides with the nation-wide trimester exams.

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Photo Courtesy of La Nacion

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Filed under: Costa Rica News on April 11th, 2008