The Dominican Teachers Association (ADP) and the Ministry of Education (MINERD) seem to be close to an agreement on a salary increase for public school teachers, after a meeting between the representatives of both parties that was held yesterday, Monday 18 February. ADP president Eduardo Hidalgo said last night that the union council will study the proposal presented by Minerd yesterday in which the previously offered 15% increase was upped.
Hidalgo, who is also a deputy in Congress, said that they would release their decision in response to this offer this morning, Tuesday 19 February. “There is a change. They have changed the amount and we are discussing it. We are taking a break until tomorrow morning, in order to decide whether or not we accept,” he told reporters, refusing to disclose the change in the percentage of wage increase the Ministry of Education was offering.
The Danilo Medina administration has doubled National Budget funding for public education and this has motivated public school teachers to demand a greater share of the increase in allocation.