The Plaza de la Constitución, in front of the National Palace, dawned on Monday, May 26 with tents and improvised tents with Nylon distributed in different points. That will be the place where teachers affiliated with the Union of Education Workers of Guatemala (Steg) They will spend the night indefinite, Until the authorities of the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) meet their demands, including the salary increase of 15%.
This is the new strategy that trade unionists adopted to press the Government, as they argue that 5% increase announced on April 30 for the guild is not enough. In addition, they point out that it was negotiated outside the collective pact of working conditions of the teaching.
It is not the only action they carry out, then Since May 19 they are in permanent assembly, So classes remain suspended in public establishments. Although MINEDUC authorities have indicated that only 16% of schools have paralyzed work, they consider that the support of Steg teachers has decreased.
During a union meeting held on May 23 in Comitancillo, San Marcos, it was indicated that Each educational district will send around 15 representatives to the capital to participate in the movement in the capital.
They will make relay: each group It will spend the night in the square for three days and will then be replaced by another. Those who do not attend must contribute financially to cover the expenses of those who travel to the city.
“The proposal is that in the capital, every day, there are eight thousand teachers. The president says that only 16% is in an assembly because they have not seen the strength of the teaching.
Regarding the teachers who have been absent from the classrooms to participate in this trade union movement, President Bernardo Arévalo said this May 26, at a press conference: “The teacher who is not fulfilling his functions will be raised an act, in accordance with the provisions of the amparo.”
It should be remembered that on April 9 the Tenth Court of the Civil Branch granted the Mineduc a provisional amparo, which orders the union to refrain from taking actions that affect educational processes in the country. The action prevents the blocking of streets and roads, the taking of schools and buildings, The class suspension or any action that hinders the work of the ministry.
Meanwhile, MINEDUC reported that, from May 12 to 23, it has received 954 complaints from parents, in which they point out that teachers have not reached schools to teach or have not fulfilled the schedule.
The reports were received through telephone number 1503 and the institutional website. The claims related to the fact that teachers do not comply with classes added 380, while The complaints of labor absences were 574.
The suspension of classes has been reported mainly in the departments of Guatemala, Suchitepéquez, Jutiapa, Alta Verapaz, Quiché and Huehuetenango.
New hiring
While unionized teachers protest, the MINEDUC is in the process of hiring about 3,500 new teachers, who will be chosen from the data bank formed with the calls that have been launched. Last year he joined 11 thousand.
The Technical Deputy Minister, Francisco Cabrera, indicated that the call that closed two weeks ago served to feed the data bank which will be teachers who opt for the places available this year and in 2026.
He added that this bank is organized by the municipality – there is 340 in the country – and, in turn, each one is divided by educational level (preprimary, primary, basic and diversified), which allows to have candidates for each degree where it is necessary to hire teachers, either to cover the square of someone who retired, died or was transferred.
For example, if in Palencia it is necessary to hire 20 teachers, these are selected from the database of the municipality, where they are ordered according to the qualification they receive. For this process, aspects such as residence, service time, academic training, merits and performance quality are considered.
Those who head the list are the first candidates to be hired, and the following advance to the first registration positions for a new process.
Cabrera mentioned that, from the financial point of view, it is positive for the ministry for teachers to retire, since the salary accrued in the Flafon F – more than Q10 thousand – allows to hire two teachers who enter class A, whose salary ranges between Q4 thousand 500.
For now there is no certainty of how many teachers will retire in 2025, but Vice Minister Francisco Cabrera does not rule out that they are more than in previous years, due to the Reform to Decree 18-2024, Law on Passive Class which establishes that pensioners will receive monthly no less than the current non -agricultural minimum wage, that is, Q3 thousand 634.59, and no more than Q7 thousand.
“That is why the bank urges us to have it, because from there the teachers who will cover the positions that are being vacant by the retirements will cover,” said Cabrera.
Calls
The call number 31 was aimed at physical education teachers to cover the levels of preprimary and primary schools in public educational centers, and was open for first -income, re -entry or transfer candidates. According to the MINEDUC, More than 1,800 people participated.
The files that entered will be transferred from the municipal jury to the department between Thursday, May 29 and June 4. These jurors have the positions available in their jurisdiction, the files of the participants and their respective scores.
The call for line 021 is also open, aimed at educational centers in specific areas already administrative positions in Alta Verapaz, Baja Verapaz, Izabal, Retalhuleu, Suchitepéquez, Guatemala Oriente and Suchitepéquez. This call is in force from May 22 to 31.
Conflict
Teacher calls are one of the topics that Steg attributes to the teaching struggle, a point that Mineduc authorities have questioned. They even point out that, through the mixed joints, The trade unionists have had power to decide when and how to perform them.
Calls have a key instrument: the weighting table, in which the experience, academic titles, among other aspects are qualified. However, the mixed joints influenced these parameters, as reported.
For that reason, the Attorney General’s Office (PGN) presented to the Constitutional Court (CC) an action of unconstitutionality against seven articles of the collective pactamong them articles 45, 46 and 47, which refer to the mixed joints, their integration and their faculties.
Although these constitute a resolution mechanism through mediation and dialogue in labor matters, before they reach the judicial route, their interference reached the hiring and relocation of teachers.
The unconstitutionality action is a measure that Mineduc authorities have promoted to “recover the rectory” of the portfolio, they have stated.