BA teachers' unions reject salary proposal, meeting with gov't next week

The negotiations between the Buenos Aires government and the teachers' unions from that province will continue next week, after the principal union rejected the official proposal for an increase in salaries identical to the one accepted on a national level, according to SUTEBA head Roberto Baradel.

The provincial government offered an increase of 19 percent for teachers, so that the initial salary would go from 1,605 pesos to 1,740 pesos between March and June, and then would again increase in July to 1,840 pesos.

The offer was rejected by the Teachers' Union Front, which is made up of the SUTEBA education workers' syndicate, the FEB Buenos Aires educators, the AMET association, the SADOP teachers' syndicate and the UDA Argentine teachers' union.

SUTEBA's secretary general said that they will wait until Monday for another meeting and expect another offer, adding that if an agreement is not reached, the unions will decide what steps to take.

Buenos Aires, which holds 36 percent of registered students for the country, makes up the group of nine provinces that paid salaries just slightly above the minimum wage accorded on a national level.

The province allots 38 percent of its budget to education, the highest percentage in Argentina, according to Buenos Aires sources.

Buenos Aires, que concentra el 36% de la matrícula de alumnos del país, integra el grupo de las nueve provincias que pagaban hasta el año pasado un piso por encima del mínimo que se fija en la paritaria nacional docente.