Teachers' rail blockades came down earlier this week.A costly month-long strike by members of the CNTE teachers’ union in Michoacán is over.
Union leader Víctor Manuel Zavala told a press conference today that protesting teachers will pack up their tents in front of government headquarters in the state capital, Morelia, where they have camped for the past 31 nights.
Teachers have also occupied municipal offices in various municipalities as well as state agencies’ offices. They too are being withdrawn.
Classes will resume on Monday after consultation with union members, who were informed of the progress made during talks on Wednesday with federal and state government representatives.
The union said the state had agreed to pay bonuses and other monies owed teachers.
But Zavala made it clear that the teachers’ fight would not be over until the previous federal government’s education reform was abolished, a central demand by the union since it was introduced in 2013.
This week’s talks began after the union withdrew more than half a dozen blockades on the state’s railroad network, a stoppage that the Business Coordinating Council estimates cost 30 billion pesos (US $1.55 billion).
It also cost more than 10,000 students four weeks of school.
Source: Milenio (sp)
