Hundreds of teachers and public employees gathered Thursday at Plaza Colón in Old San Juan for the so-called Day of Teacher Indignation, demanding payment of about $90.4 million owed in career magisterial pay and restoration of a dignified retirement. At the end of the march to La Fortaleza, union representatives met with Governing Secretary Norma Burgos and a dialogue table was reopened, with a follow-up meeting set for December 2, when the teacher groups expect concrete answers.
FMPR president Mercedes Martínez said the groups will organize this month to intensify the struggle, and that they will track payment of the career magisterial, the reinstatement of janitors and security guards, and approval of House Bill 619, which would establish a salary scale by years of service. Martínez said officials committed to paying school transporters with checks possibly going out the next day, and that talks with university sectors resume December 8 on collective bargaining agreements and classification and compensation plans.
The unions joining the FMPR and Únete included HEEND, the Firefighters’ Union, the UIA, the School Transporters Federation, the CGT and APPU; Firefighters’ Union president José Tirado said his union is owed $4.5 million in overtime. The march proceeded despite Education Secretary Eliezer Ramos Parés’ Wednesday call for staff to stay in schools, and some teachers denounced a Wednesday circular letter they saw as an attempt to intimidate them. The Education Department said all schools opened but had no attendance data by mid-morning.