Pay raise for teachers not an election ploy – Minister

PRE-ELECTION TIMES are good for those seeking pay or benefit increases, especially if the money is coming out of taxpayer funded Government coffers.

Teachers are the latest to be recognized as being worthy of a pay boost. It follows on other worthy causes like pensioners and working stiffs (who got a hefty increase in the minimum wage in January,

Minister of Education Lucy Molinar said Monday February 17 that she will announce a wage adjustment for teachers in the coming days.
Molinar said that this increase is not 60 percent that union leaders have asked for, but said that it will be given to all the teachers.
She also denied that the wage increase is politically-motivated, even though it comes just before the May election.
Molinar admitted that Panamanian teachers are poorly paid and said that they should receive a good salary.
Her statements were made while presenting an annual report of the education system, which included comments on the curricular transformation and the English program for teachers.