‘There will be no Retroactive Payment to Teachers’ says Panama President Mulino

President José Raúl Mulino rejected the teachers’ unions’ request for payment of salaries withheld during the strike, stating that this decision will set a precedent to prevent similar situations from happening again.  He also instructed Education Minister Lucy Molinar to ensure that the replacements made to date remain in their positions, but once again invited educators to return to classes.  Mulino stated that he has no problem with the National Assembly organizing a discussion with teachers, as this body is free to hold meetings with whomever it deems necessary, but he believes a “tough” precedent must be set to ensure that no more games are played with education.  “Education shouldn’t be played irresponsibly, as it has been played in two and a half months.

They finished the first quarter of the year, they took it for granted, and that can’t happen again,” he reiterated.  The president added that the decisions made are now final; the rest will depend on the “prudence and common sense” of the teachers’ unions, which persist in maintaining a strike that has no relation to the education system.  The Ministry of Education (Meduca) confirmed the opening of proceedings against some 500 teachers for abandoning their duties in accordance with the Organic Law on Education, allowing them to present their objections. 

The teachers’ unions have reiterated their willingness to return to the classrooms, but first, they are requesting the signing of a strike settlement agreement in which the authorities commit to establishing a plan to restore content, pay withheld wages, and eliminate the “unpaid leave” option.  Various social actors have joined the authorities’ call for teachers to return to schools so that the teaching-learning process of students, especially those in twelfth grade, is not further disrupted.  Teachers have been on an indefinite strike since April 23 in opposition to the law reforming the Social Security Fund (CSS).

“The number of educators who were replaced remains unchanged, and there will be no retroactive pay,” Mulino stressed.

Mulino stated that teachers who replace striking teachers ‘stay’