On the next June, the workers of the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) will receive the different salary increases announced, 5% percent for teachers and Q400 for administrative personal staff. In addition, all workers will be granted additional Q500 in the first of the two annual bonds they receive. The monthly disbursement amounts to Q88.7 million.
But where will the resources to make these payments come from? The MINEDUC administrative vice minister, José Donaldo Carías Valenzuela, indicated that an evaluation was carried out to the budget corresponding to the salaries and salaries; The Budget readcations And these were presented to the Ministry of Finance, which approved them. Therefore, the MINEDUC has the funds to start paying the increase from next month, he said.
“Our payroll is approximately 145 thousand employees. There are economies that happen from the casualties that occur on the payroll; that is where the resources are rescheduled to finance this type of increase,” said Carías.
“At this time we would not request any extension; the resources leave the budget of the Ministry of Education,” he added.
To cover the increase to workers in the seven months of 2025, the Mineduc will disburse near Q621.4 million, according to the administrative vice minister.
The 5% increase on the base salary will be for 135 thousand 711 teachers, so that the disbursement from June to December will be Q583.7 million, which includes the Q500 of increase in the two bonds they will receive in the year.
There are 8,927 people in the administrative area for whom the increase will be Q400, plus what they receive from the bonds, and the total payment amounts to Q35.8 million.
In the MINEDUC there are 474 wages for which the increase is also q400 ―Casos in which they work full time, in partial hours the equivalent of hours will be made – the disbursement will be Q1.9 million, with the payment of the bonds.
Payment to teachers
Francisco Cabrera, Technical Deputy Minister of MINEDUC, indicated that the 5% salary increase that will be granted to teachers is the percentage that the portfolio is in the economic capacity to provide at this time. The amount they will receive will vary according to their ranks.
He pointed out that said increase was not planned in the portfolio budget for this year, so they relied on the Ministry of Finance to find the necessary funds and complement the payment. In that sense, he mentioned that a greater percentage could not be offered without having the financial support to grant it.
According to Cabrera, part of the funds for the payment of the increase in the base salary and bonds will leave the salaries that will stop paying to the teachers who retire This year.
“For the Ministry’s budget it is economically good to retire, because a teacher who retires is in the Flafon F, winning, with the increase, above Q10 thousand; and the teacher who will replace it is class A, who is winning above the Q4 thousand 500. That leaves us a margin to hire more teachers and a bag to complement the salary increase,” said the official.
Retirees go to passive classes from the State, an entity that must take care of the payment of pensions, both with retired teachers and administrative staff.
Both the 5% salary increase and the Q500 of increase in the bonus will be paid before June 25date on which teacher’s day is celebrated.
Cabrera indicated that in the budget next year approximately, the Q1 thousand 64 million necessary to pay these benefits to the workers of the MINEDUC must be included, waiting for the Congress to approve, since it could happen that the deputies do not authorize it and continue in force that of 2025.
For that reason, the portfolio did not agree on a major salary increase, since Each percentage point of increase represents about Q100 million, Cabrera has indicated.
“If the 2026 budget is not approved, we cannot do more than what is already committed, and, obviously, the priority is the programs that impact the improvement of educational quality, support programs that contribute to students attending and remain in schools,” he said.
In permanent assembly
The Mineduc authorities announced the 5% salary increase to the teachers on April 30, and argued that they could not continue to postpone the issue, since there were no consensus in the negotiation of the collective pact of working conditions of the magisterium, discussion that began on February 29, 2024.
For its part, the Guatemalan Education Workers Union (Steg) requires an increase of 15%, and as part of that fight, This week the trade unionists declared themselves in permanent assemblywith which they have suspended classes in several schools until their demands are attended, among which they also request that the school food share be Q10 and that students of uniforms and shoes be provided.
In this regard, Anabella Giracca, Minister of Education, said Wednesday that, despite the actions announced by the STEG, only 15% of schools nationwide have closed.
“It is good news, because it means that the commitment to education is worth more and that we have brave teachers and directors who are assuming their responsibility, which is education,” Giracca said during the launch of the program My school travels to the museum, which arises from an agreement between Mineduc and the Ministry of Culture and Sports.