The Ministry of Education (Mineduc) stated this Sunday, April 26, that the new location promoted by the Guatemalan Education Workers Union (STEG) breaks the negotiation of the collective agreement and transfers the process to the judicial sphere.
The Minister of Education, Anabella Giracca, said in a video broadcast on Mineduc social networks: “With this desperate action, the STEG has broken the negotiation of the collective agreement and has taken the process to the judicial sphere.”
He added that the decision of the union, led by Joviel Acevedo, responds to the fact that concessions that he described as inadequate would not be accepted at the negotiating table: “They do it because they know that in the negotiation we were never going to give in to irresponsible commitments.”
The official also stated that the union leadership has been behind previous actions: “With the new location promoted directly by the STEG, the obvious is confirmed: “Behind that committee that presented the previous summons there was always the same union leadership.”
According to Giracca, the union’s objective is to maintain internal benefits and stop administrative processes: “What the STEG union leadership is really looking for is to protect their privileges.”
He added that the location does not stop the Ministry’s actions: “Neither this location nor the previous one prevents these processes from continuing to advance.”
According to the minister, the dismissal procedures will continue in accordance with the law, that is, with a final step of authorization from a labor judge.
He also indicated that the measures ordered by the court apply to both parties.
“The preventions established by the court, through the summons, are for both parties.”
New conflict
On April 23, The STEG reported on its social networks that the Mineduc was summoned again due to a collective conflict of an economic-social nature, presented in the Court of First Instance for Labor Misdemeanors of the department of Guatemala.
According to the publication, the lawsuit was filed on April 22 against the State of Guatemala and the Mineduc.
The action occurred a day after the ministry reported that the Third Chamber of the Court of Appeals for Labor and Social Welfare confirmed a resolution favorable to Mineduc, which annulled a previous summons promoted by an ad hoc committee.
That resolution established that the conflict could not continue because the direct route had not been exhausted and that the negotiation of the collective agreement was still ongoing with the STEG.
The Vice Minister of Education, Francisco Cabrera, indicated that, after the lifting of the previous summons, the Ministry could continue with the dismissal process of at least 140 workers sanctioned for suspending classes during the permanent assembly promoted by the STEG in 2025, which kept students out of the classrooms for about 50 days.
🚨 The STEG proposed a new location and with this the negotiation of the collective agreement ends. They knew that the #mineduc He would never give in to the illegitimate privileges of his leadership.
📚 ⚖️ A new stage begins: the right to education is not negotiated. pic.twitter.com/BjxkuQZf8g
— Mineduc Guatemala (@MineducGT) April 26, 2026
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