Argentinian teachers hold 48hr strike over low pay

Thousands of Argentinian teachers have staged a 48-hour strike, demanding better working conditions and higher salaries, Press TV reports.

The strike was launched on Monday, affecting more than five million students who were to return to schools after a winter break.

“This is a nationwide protest that includes professionals from five provinces, our goal is to draw the government’s attention to this education crisis,” said Jorge Adaro, a spokesman for the Teachers and Educators’ Union.

“Our salaries are not keeping up with the rampant inflation and our schools infrastructure is significantly deteriorating,” Adaro added.

In the capital, Buenos Aires, hundreds of demonstrators marched from the Congress to the Presidential Palace, near which they held a rally.

The teachers also protested what they call the brutal police repression during their last strike back in June.

“The government wants to hold us accountable for the situation but it is the other way around, how can we provide core education to our students in overcrowded classrooms and earning less and less every month?,” said Mariela Bica, a teacher.

In addition, Claudia Escobar from the Teachers Union of Chaco Province said, “Two months ago, we held a demonstration to denounce that 90 percent of our schools lack basic conditions, like water supply,” adding, “The police savagely beat the teachers and arrested the union leader. We are being brutally silenced.”

Meanwhile, Education Minister Alberto Sileoni has slammed the teachers unions’ decision to strike, saying they have no valid reasons to undermine the children’s right to education.

The two-day strike is one of several protest actions taken by teachers in Argentina this year. The first walkout was staged in March, which resulted in three million students missing more than 20 school days.