The president of the educational organization Educamos, Sonalys Berríos, denounced the irritation regarding the speech of the Department of Education (DE) regarding the conditions to receive the latest bonus announced by the government, since, according to the lecturer, the right of teachers to it even take time off due to illness.
On Sept. 8, DE issued a memorandum awarding an incentive of $1,500 each quarter, which will take place in the current fiscal year 2022-2023 for a total of $6,000 for the entire year. This is not a salary increase, but an economic incentive for teaching and non-teaching staff who have worked full-time during more than two years of the coronavirus emergency.
The funds come from the Coronavirus Relief, Assistance, Economy and Security Act (CARES Act) promoted by the federal government amid the emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“What we do not find adequate is what is being imposed on us to give us our bonus, because we have already been paid for it. It is that the Directorate of Education tells us: “Employees, if you want a bonus, if you want a bonus, teachers, you must be present without interruption.” You can’t miss it. If you are absent once in that period, you must present medical evidence”, when in reality, according to the law, we present the medical certificate on the third day of illness”, said Berríos.
Incentives will be awarded according to the level of compliance of teachers with regard to DE-16, an agreement that defines the contract of duties and functions of educators and includes the provision of daily course planning; teaching classes; and the delivery of daily attendance, which is affected by the Internet problem in schools. In fact, the educator informed that if there is no submission of assignments, the teachers will not qualify to receive the bonus.
It does not seem favorable to eliminate the mandatory use of masks
On the other hand, the teacher leader did not agree with the elimination of the mandatory use of the mask on campus, as proposed by the Secretary of the Department of Health (DS), Carlos Mellado López.
“Definitely not. The use of masks must be maintained. We have some special situations in salons that [en] We have denounced Educamos since August. It is the high number of students we have per class. The halls are small. Many times, they do not have the necessary ventilation. This is where the special responsibility of parents comes in, that they should direct their children to their health and protect themselves”, said the educator, showing that they, as teachers, should also clean the classrooms every time they are there. a change of students.
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Finally, he emphasized that there are teaching staff whose health is at risk; that there are other diseases such as mycoplasma, dengue and influenza threatening teaching; and reiterated that “this has been the worst start of school we’ve had in history” due to the lack of preparation in schools.
Related note: Governor confirms Health will announce elimination of mandatory mask use in schools today
