After a week of massive demonstrations throughout the country, Peruvian teachers remain on strike. The government, however, failed to listen to the requests for a national debate on the Teacher Career Law, which was passed today without further discussion by the National Congress.
EI member SUTEP regrets the fact that such a complex and important law was approved without a discussion involving teachers and the education community. SUTEP argues that the new legislation is inadequate and fails to address the central problems of Peruvian education.
The government recently approved a law that considers public education an essential service where the right to strike is to be curtailed. Against this background, it has been announced that striking teachers who do not resume working as of tomorrow will be dismissed on account of having abandoned their positions.
According to Luis Munoz, general secretary of SUTEP, the government is not willing to find an agreed solution to the conflict, and demonstrations will continue.