Panama Teachers Still Want Money Although they didn’t Work for it

Teachers say their paychecks were seized, even though they ignored the call to return. The Supreme Court of Justice has closed the door on the protection order filed by the Association of Union Teachers of Panama (Asomogrerp), which sought to overturn the Ministry of Education’s order to withhold the salaries of teachers who went on strike for more than two months.  But the teachers aren’t giving up. Professor Alberto Díaz issued a warning:  “They seized our salaries, and we’re going back to court. This isn’t a setback; we’ll continue fighting for our pay,” the leader said firmly. 

The ruling of non-admission was signed by judges Ariadne Maribel García, Juan Francisco Castillo, Ángela Russo, Eugenio Urrutia, Olmedo Arrocha, Cecilio Cedalise, María Cristina Chen, Miriam Cheng and Maribel Cornejo.  President José Raúl Mulino, along with Education Minister Lucy Molinar, reiterated the slogan: “He, who doesn’t work, doesn’t get paid.”  The fight stems from a two-month strike in protest against the controversial Social Security reform law, which left thousands of students without the first quarter.  Teachers insist the battle is just beginning, and promise to return with a new legal challenge to recover the deducted days.