Although the public school teachers? walkout scheduled for yesterday and today in Santiago and Santo Domingo did not have the support of the teachers? union officials, it was effective in Santo Domingo. The unofficial walkout was called to demand pay raises, better working conditions and superior equipment for the schools. Reporters from the Listin Diario traveled around Santo Domingo yesterday and attested that the majority of the schools were closed. According to Danilo Caminero, head of the Santo Domingo chapter of the Dominican Association of Professors (ADP), a large part of the problem is that the government has not fulfilled its obligations in the accords reached last August, especially with regard to pay incentives. According to the agreement, the base pay for teachers in the public sector was to be raised from RD$2,915 per session (morning, afternoon or evening) to a range of RD$3,600 to RD$4,200. According to Minister of Education Milagros Ortiz Bosch, the city loses RD$8 million every day that schools remain closed. The head of the ADP, Eduardo Cuello, called the protests ?unauthorized and isolated incidents.?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Although the public school teachers? walkout scheduled for yesterday and today in Santiago and Santo Domingo did not have the support of the teachers? union officials, it was effective in Santo Domingo. The unofficial walkout was called to demand pay raises, better working conditions and superior equipment for the schools. Reporters from the Listin Diario … <\/p>\n