Oaxaca Governor Gabino Cue said that teachers of the National Coordinating Committee of Education Workers (CNTE) will receive their salaries, despite not having worked so far this school year.
He denied that his government was blackmailed by Section 22 and warned that henceforth any teacher or employee who stops going to school or their assigned area will not receive salary.
"If they work, they get paid, if they don't work, they´re not going to be paid," he said.So far, eight weeks of the school year have passed without the 73,000 teachers providing instruction.
When he came to power in 2010, Cue was supported by Section 22, however, he said:
"We didn't sponsor or promot the protests, because no one can be in favor of the suspension of classes."In an interview with Milenio, he reiterated that teachers will be paid the semi-monthly payments that were withheld as soon as they commit to replacing the 38 days of classes that have been lost, although they are still analyzing how such payment will be made (with the help of the federal government). According to the State Institute of Education, the first semi-monthly salary was paid this week. The governor said,
"All we have paid is the bonus for the beginning of the school year, as a matter of practicality. Regarding the semi-monthy payments, we haven't agreed (on a payment date), but that they are going to be paid, they will be paid, because there is a commitment to make up for the lost time."Milenio: According to what criteria will you pay section 22?
"We have been very clear, coherent and consistent: from the time the school year did not begin in a timely manner, we suspended the bonus to be paid for the beginning of the school year and three semi-monthly pays. We were clear that if they didnt restart the school year, they wouldn't be paid.
We started to pay this weekend as a matter of practicality, because there are communities where there are no banks, and so they would have resources in order to meet with parents and agree to return to the classrooms. Regarding (other) semi-monthly payments, we have not agreed on when we are going to pay. To the extent that the agreement is fulfilled and we have the resources, we will be paying."Cue said the thousand teachers who worked in 30 schools during the strike will not be hired. Nevertheless, he recognizes that it was a commendable work which allowed the children to not miss classes.
Milenio: Why cant the substitute teachers remain in the classroom?
"It was a very commendable decision. There was concern that children not miss classes, but beyond that we can't duplicate services or have positions available to hire new teachers. We will have to say thank you and give an honorary payment, but we don't have the option of hiring them."Milenio: Section 59 [an alternative union group that has provided teachers to some schools] and some parents say they are not listened to by their government ...
"We have a pathway to that relationship [with Section 59] and it has to be corrected, because the classes are in irregular locations and we have to make them regular or locate the teachers where they belong. Regarding the parents, there is a person who claims to be their representative (Luisa Garcia). But for us the representative of the parents is Efrain Morales (President of the State Association of Parents)."Milenio: Do you expect a violent day with the resumption of classes?
"No. We knew there were 35 locations that needed attention. So far we have not had problems, but that doesn't mean they can't happen. There are places where classes were held, but not by teachers of Section 22. It was agreed that where there was a tense situation, Section 22 wouldn't be present. They acceded to the request, because we wanted to avoid confrontations."Spanish original