Education International Africa

On May 15, Teachers’ Day in Mexico, President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo announced a significant salary raise of 10% and an additional week of vacation for the country’s teaching workforce. The new measures are the result of constructive and open social dialogue between the government and the National Union of Education Workers (SNTE), an affiliate of Education International.

On behalf of the SNTE, General Secretary Alfonso Cepeda Salas congratulated and praised Mexico’s teachers during the official ceremony headed by the President of the Republic, with the participation of Secretary of Public Education and educators from across the country. The union leader welcomed the fact that public education and the teaching profession are reclaiming their central role in the nation’s progress.

Cepeda Salas, who is a member of the Education International Executive Board, stressed that the great advances in support of education workers have been achieved through dialogue and negotiation. "We believe in the strength of the organisation, not in imposition; we believe in strategic dialogue, not in confrontation. When we negotiate, we do not give up: we transform. Each achievement at the negotiation table, from salary increases to benefits, from working conditions such as job security, to the withdrawal of the Social Security reform initiative, are proof of this," Cepeda Salas stated.

In addition, the SNTE General Secretary, who is also a Senator of the Republic, participated in the solemn session of the Upper House of Parliament that unveiled a plaque dedicated to teachers on the Wall of Honour. Reading “To the teachers of Mexico, for their contribution to the development of the country”.

“In the fight for teachers’ legitimate demands, there is no going back. We will continue to fight until all union rights are guaranteed, to defend union autonomy, and for dignified wages in accordance with our profession”, Cepeda Salas concluded.