Thousands of Puerto Rican teachers skipped class Friday in favor of protesting for higher pay and better working conditions.
The Puerto Rican Department of Education said over 70 percent of the island’s teachers were absent from their classrooms Friday, the Associated Press reported. Videos shared on Twitter show thousands at the Capitol in San Juan demanding better treatment from the government, which is trying to emerge from bankruptcy after Hurricane Maria and several earthquakes.
The protests come just a week after Puerto Rico approved a fiscal plan that included a 27 percent pay raise for teachers, according to CNBC. However, in the AP report, the Puerto Rican Association of Teachers said this was not enough, as a 27 percent increase would only make base salaries $2,220 a month despite the group requesting $3,500.
Joalice Santiago, a fourth and fifth grade Spanish and science teacher, told the AP many Puerto Rican teachers are forced to take on two or three jobs just to survive, as the cost of living is increasing on the island.
A local TV station compared the base salaries for Puerto Rican teachers, which are currently at about $1,750 a month, to teachers in states like Florida and New York, who receive $4,263 and $6,082 a month, respectively.
The teachers association said in the AP report that bankruptcy “cannot continue to be used as an excuse” and instead of being offered “more crumbs,” teachers want “a concrete solution that provides them with a better quality of life.”
“Do you think a teacher can live on the misery he earns and at the end of his days, not even have a dignified retirement?” the association wrote in a letter to Governor Pedro Pierluisi, according to CNBC.
A May 2021 EdSurge article called teaching in Puerto Rico an “act of resilience,” as teachers noted a lack of reliable access to power and lack of materials as issues they have faced.
According to the report, Héctor Joaquín Sánchez, associate undersecretary for Puerto Rico’s education department, said 45,000 students—or about 25 percent of all students on the island—were failing at least one of their classes.
Pierluisi said while his administration respects the teachers’ right to protest, it wants to get them back in classrooms soon and is working on a solution to provide higher wages to all public servants, the AP reported.
“Our students more than ever need the guarantee of adequate face-to-face education, and for this, they need their teachers in the classroom,” he said.
Photo by Ricardo Arduengo/AFP via Getty Images
