In the face of a conflictive year ahead, Córdoba joins a successful strategy against teacher strikes.

If one goes through the chronicles of the last major national teacher strikes, those that Ctera promoted during the Macri government, you will notice that, in all of them, it is mentioned that in Mendoza there was almost no adhesion tailored. And then it is explained what it is because the “classroom item” is in force there.

The classroom item is an initiative that the first government of Alfredo Cornejo implemented in 2016, which grants 10 percent extra salary for teachers who do not have unjustified absences. With this, the Mendoza government affirms that they managed to significantly reduce teacher absenteeism and reduce compliance with strikes to a minimum.

In the face of a year that appears to be very conflictive in schools, The government of Córdoba has just signed a resolution that goes in the same direction. Establishes the implementation of the “teaching professionalism item”which has similar characteristics.

The Córdoba item will also add 10 percent to the salary of teachers who do not have justified absences. And just as in the case of Mendoza, it also applies to those teachers who do not miss more than three times a month with justification.

Jaime Correas, former general director of Mendoza Schools, says that the reason they configured the classroom item was because they had detected a lot of teacher absenteeism, and most absences were justified from situations that enable the statute.

He says that at that time absenteeism in public schools was around 20%, while in private schools it was 5%. After establishing the classroom item, he states, absenteeism in public schools It fell reduced and equaled that of private schools.

“With the current classroom article the strikes are over. They had no more compliance. He who stops loses it, because it is for those who are in the classroom,” Correas told Clarion.

“The strikes are going to end with mechanisms like these, not declaring education an essential service that is useless. Strikes are also avoided by discounting the days not worked, which is what the law establishes,” he added.

Last year, the City of Buenos Aires had also established an incentive for non-parent teachers. It was not a salary increase, but They doubled the discount percentage for those who did not comply with presenteeism. It was from November, when the reduction went from 2 to 4% of the net salary.

In the case of Córdoba, the new resolution – which is already in force – adds as a condition a professional training. It establishes that to receive the salary bonus the teacher must “participate – and approve, if available – the professional development instances that the Ministry of Education – or the head of the jurisdiction in which the teacher works – determines on a mandatory basis.”

As far as he could know ClarionThere is already strong rejection of the measure by the teaching unions of Córdoba, as there was also in the case of Mendoza at the time.

There are two big differences between the classroom items in Mendoza and Córdoba. The first difference has to do with the origin of the initiative. While that of Mendoza arose from the Ministry of Education (the Directorate of Schools), in the case of Córdoba The resolution came from the provincial Ministry of Economy.

This gives an idea that it is more of an economic and financial decision that the province makes in the face of the current context of adjustment in its finances than a measure aimed at improving the level of learning.

The second difference between the classroom items from Mendoza and Córdoba is that in Mendoza it came out by law and, judicialized, it even reached the provincial Supreme Court, which gave it approval. He can now only realize reversal with another law. In the case of Córdoba, however, It’s a resolutionTherefore, a future administration can reverse it with another resolution.

The measure of Córdoba’s “teaching professionalism item” was published in the official provincial bulletin last Friday, February 9, and in the context of the fall of the omnibus billwhich had in its education chapters some articles that channeled the teaching conflict.

For example, the article limited the right to strike by establishing that education was an essential service. And another that established that the so-called national teaching parity (which sets the minimum wage for the activity) had to be done in consultation with finance ministers of each of the provinces.

Without this tool and, in the context of the fight for funds unleashed between the national government and the governors, many provincial administrations stopped their district teaching partnerships. Furthermore, the national government did not call the national joint body and the main national teaching unions came out talking about a complicated start to classes, and even mentioned the possibility of strikes at the beginning of the school year that is scheduled for the last week of February and the first week of March (After 5 years…).

Education experts consulted by Clarion They have different visions regarding the Mendoza classroom item. Some point out the importance of reducing teacher absenteeism, but at the same time they affirm that there is no evidence that there is an improvement with improvements in learning. And highlight the political decision to control what happens in the classrooms.

• At the beginning of January the Government had said that it was going to convene the national teaching partnership. It is a negotiation to set the basic salary throughout the country.

• In the omnibus law there were articles that tied this partnership to consultation with the ministers of Economy of the provinces.

• Once the omnibus law has fallen, the Government now says that the teaching unions have to negotiate in the provinces.

• The national teaching unions threatened a strike if the national joint meeting is not called.