Oscar Requena Campaign Promise Video Resurfaces Amid Teachers Demand For Salary Increase

A video of Oscar Requena resurfaced earlier this week where the then opposition member had promised teachers a twenty percent salary increase.  It is a video where Requena addressed teachers during the campaign trail before the 2020 elections.  The recording has gone viral as teachers are now lobbying for a salary increase.  Our senior correspondent in Toledo met up with Requena who is now the education minister.  Here is how that interview went.

Oscar Requena, Minister of Education: “The truth of the matter is that you have some people who want to gain political mileage out of this mischief. Paul let me say to you I have always maintained, myself being a teacher for many years, that our teachers are very important. We value, we respect, we appreciate our teachers and I understand how challenging it is, how difficult it is to be a teacher and as such I will always advocate that our teachers are treated with respect and that they are given the necessary remuneration and compensation that our country can afford. Regarding the video I will say to you that at that time we were in opposition. We did not know the realities in terms of the economic situation of our country and of course I would want to advocate that our teachers be given even more but we have to understand that we have certain economic constraints and I will say to you we have made our government’s position very clear. We have sat with our unions, we are negotiating, we have made clear to them that government is prepared to give the 8.5% except that it is going to be in a phased in manner. In addition to that we’re also unfreezing increments and giving additional increments that when you add all of that it rounds out to about 14.5%. So we’re not far away. It is not farfetched that we are working towards ensuring that we compensate our teachers adequately and fairly.”