Africa-Press – Cape verde. The Cape Verdean deputy prime minister, Olavo Correia, said today that the Government has already invested another 5.4 million euros to resolve teachers’ outstanding issues and that in next year’s General State Budget (OGE) it has reserved more than 100 million of escudos (906 thousand euros) to regularize careers.
Government of Cape Verde reserves more than 900 thousand euros in the 2024 OGE for teachers’ careers
“For the first time in Cape Verde, we are about to eliminate all pending issues in relation to the teaching class, which we also did in relation to all public servants ”, said, according to Lusa, the Minister of Finance, in statements to journalists, on city of Praia, after being heard by a parliamentary committee.
Olavo Correia was speaking the day after Cape Verdean teachers demonstrated on the streets of the country, in a call for two unions, which presented a ten-point statement of demands, which includes salary updates and career progressions.
According to the same source, the Minister of Finance revealed that in the last seven years the Government has invested more than 600 million escudos (more than 5.4 million euros) to resolve teachers’ outstanding issues and that in the State Budget for 2024 more of 100 million escudos (906 thousand euros) to regularize careers.
Without specifying a specific date, Olavo Correia also said that the Cape Verdean Government will change the status of teachers, which will also imply a salary increase.
“ We are going to work on the status of the teaching class (…) and the changes always involve an increase in salary ”, he stated.
Openness to dialogue but no salary increase now
With the “ movement ” to reduce pending issues, the regularization of other abnormalities and the opening to review the statutes, the deputy prime minister said that “it does n’t make sense ” to raise salaries now.
However, the number two in the Government is open to analyzing proposals from unions, workers and opposition parties in the debate on the State Budget.
As for the demonstration, which brought together thousands of teachers on several islands, and had the support of many students, the deputy prime minister said that it was normal and should not be dramatized.
“ Not dramatizing does not mean not listening, not listening or not taking into account what people say ”, highlighted, according to Lusa, Correia, insisting that the measures aimed at the teaching class in the OE are “ very strong” , both from the point of view from a financial point of view, as well as the executive’s commitment to quality education.
On Wednesday, in a note published on the official pages, the Government said that, within the scope of the 2024 State Budget, it will allocate resources to “correct inequalities and dysfunctions in teachers’ careers, in addition to reviewing the statutes that govern their work “, adds the source of this newspaper.
“ The Government is also committed to resolving the outstanding issues it inherited from previous administrations, totaling more than 4 million contos” (more than 36 million euros), promised the executive.
As Lusa recalls, the unions warned that if the demands are not met, the teachers will leave in other forms of struggle, such as strikes or freezing of grades.
For More News And Analysis About Cape verde Follow Africa-Press
