After the protest, teachers meet with the Secretary of Education.

Andressa Anholete _Brasília 247 – On the morning of this Thursday (29), teachers from the public education network of the Federal District held a demonstration in front of the Education Secretariat. After the event, a meeting was scheduled for this afternoon, starting at 14:30 pm, between the Secretary of Education, Denilson Costa, and representatives of the Union of Teachers of the Federal District (Sinpro-DF).

For 18 days, a large portion of Brasília's 550 students have been without classes. According to the Education Department, the strike participation rate is 40%. This number is disputed by Sinpro-DF, which claims that around 70% of teachers are participating in the movement. In total, there are 28 teachers in the Federal District (DF).

Teachers are demanding salary parity with other higher-level categories in the Federal District government (GDF), a health plan, and the completion of the restructuring of the teaching career. Rosilene Correia, director of Sinpro-DF, states that the only point justifying the continuation of the strike is the salary adjustments. “We have made progress. Regarding the restructuring, the only problems are the economic issues,” Rosilene explains when commenting on the progress of the talks.

For the meeting this Thursday (29) the union expects the government to present proposals, which is unlikely to happen, according to the press office of the Education department. “The meeting is to maintain dialogue”, explains the department.

On Wednesday night (28) the acting Planning Secretary, Wanderly Costa, reaffirmed the impossibility of the GDF granting salary adjustments to the category. “We do not see any prospect of raising additional resources to cover any increase in personnel for any DF employee,” said Wanderly, adding that the government remains open to dialogue.

More information about the meeting will be available soon on Brasília 247.