The attack on education by the Milei government begins with a significant salary adjustment. To compare, we must go back to the salary cuts at the hands of Lopez Murphy in 2001, as De La Rúa’s economy minister. The reduction of the FONID will mean that provinces such as Córdoba will not pay this sum, meaning a nominal reduction in teacher salaries of between 8 and 20% per position (the amount differs by province, see table). Other jurisdictions, such as CABA, will pay this month and have already announced that they will not pay next month. In the Province of Buenos Aires, Kicillof announced that he does not know how many months he can support him while he agreed with Baradel on salaries below inflation. This adds to the provocation of the government canceling the national teachers’ parity. In the midst of an inflationary escalation, an immediate response is needed in defense of our salary.
Regarding the educational system, it uses existing laws to deepen the neoliberal legacy, removing the national state from any responsibility for education and delegating everything to the provinces. Beginning the cancellation of funds towards salaries and blocking the sending of money to cafeterias, cooperatives and school infrastructure in the midst of a strong adjustment. This situation occurs due to the cuts that the governors of the different provinces are already implementing. The IMF celebrates the progress of its plan to reduce the deficit with adjustments to the people.
Milei makes such a cruel adjustment that it cuts the already miserable budgets intended to provide many times the only plate of childhood food that we receive in schools, more than 60% poor and their homes hit by inflation, tariffs, layoffs, increases in rent, food and transportation. Many families are already asking for food, asking if the dining rooms are open or if there is any leftover milk. They are the families of our students, who do not have the money to buy supplies, backpacks or feed their sons and daughters. It demagogues an insufficient measure such as increasing school aid, the amount of which does not cover an average school basket. This will deepen social inequality, increasing poverty and child destitution.
As another side of the same coin, it favors the business of private schools by proposing that they continue without paying employer contributions and demagogues by vaucherizing “the offer” with a bonus for families, knowing that with the increase in prices of private schools many Families will not be able to sustain the fees and many are already asking to enter the public.
The attack on union organizations trying to limit the right to strike with the declaration of “essential service”, which according to reports would be presented by decree this week. This does not mean that there will be more money for education, but rather that education is no longer conceived as a basic social right; it attempts to block the possibility of national and provincial strikes, enabling the “classroom item” by provinces as they want in Córdoba. This was what Bullrich, Milei and Massa said during the election campaign. Cristina Kirchner, in her latest document, also spoke about the choice of families of private schools where there are no teacher strikes.
We must stop this attack and confront it nationally
There are just days left until the start of classes in the first provinces and with each passing day the government increases its provocation towards teachers. First of all, it is necessary that CTERA, a national union that is throughout the country, urgently calls for assemblies by school and by province for the construction of a non-starting national strike that is the beginning of a plan of struggle and a great campaign in defense of public schools, for our salary and the living conditions of our school families. We have to fight for the payment of the Fonid, that there be no discount or salary reduction and an urgent increase to recover what was lost due to inflation with a salary equal to the basic family basket per position, today stipulated at $900 thousand.
The national government attacks and the bureaucracy divides along with the governors, they debate who cuts or assumes the cost of the adjustment but neither the Milei government nor the governors adjust where the money is, who are the big businessmen of the countryside, of the big companies. industries, the mining ones, that is, the large concentrated economic groups that take it with a shovel. That is why it is essential to surround each school with solidarity, to support the educational struggle, we have to propose a perspective of national struggle that can twist Milei’s arm. For that we need to build this plan so that it is massive together with the entire educational community, building assemblies of teachers, families and students. With national days, strikes, mobilizations, protest days, which are provincial, by zones and in each school. Report the adjustment in dining rooms and demand increase in rations, quantity and quality of food provided in public schools and in the neighborhoods, by delivery of supplies to each student, books and technology, overalls, clothing and everything necessary to attend school, along with with educational ticket for all families and students of all educational levels. The neighborhood assemblies where they emerged with force, organized by families from schools, are holding solidarity festivals to collect supplies for the children. Great support for this common fight.
Since April 9, we have demanded from CTERA a non-starting struggle plan with strikes and mobilizations at the beginning of classes on February 26, where many provinces begin their school cycles, along with a day of struggle and federal mobilization/white march towards Congress On March 1st, when other provinces begin and which coincides with Javier Milei going to Congress to begin the legislative sessions, there are already neighborhood organizations and assemblies that will march towards Congress. Continuing with a large strike on March 8, in a union of mostly colleagues and mothers from public school breadwinner families along with other sectors of workers. Just as a beginning of a great battle against this government.
An important support for all this are the forces of the neighborhood assemblies, of the combative teaching unions such as Ademys and Cedems, opposition sections such as Aten Capital, Amsafe Rosario, Uepc Capital and the sections of the SUTEBAs such as Tigre and Bahía Blanca, self-convened in different provinces and all the strength of the teaching opposition at the national level that it has been coordinating for some time. Together with our colleagues from the Left Front benches such as Myriam Bregman, Nicolás del Caño, Christian Castillo, Alejandro Vilca and Romina del Pla who from within Congress denounce this situation and call to confront it in an organized manner, in the streets and They put his body next to us.
Source: www.laizquierdadiario.com
