El Ciudadano
Original article: Movilización en ascenso: SLEP Andalién Costa bajo presión por despidos masivos y denuncias de precarización
By Juan Pablo Orellana
The conflict within the Andalién Costa Local Public Education Service (SLEP) is escalating, marking the end of the year with increasing tension among school communities in Coronel, Lota, San Pedro de la Paz, and Santa Juana.
This controversy stems from the service’s decision to implement cuts equivalent to more than 3,200 teaching hours, projecting the dismissal of over 200 teachers without prior professional evaluation, solely based on economic criteria.
According to Richard Yáñez Silva, leader of the Teachers’ College of Coronel and a member of the Teacher Unity Movement (MUD), this adjustment is another blow to the already deteriorating public education system.
The leader succinctly summarizes the situation in harsh terms: «More than 200 teachers from the Andalién Costa area will be dismissed without a professional evaluation, solely based on economic criteria and adjustments to the public system that have no relation to our daily reality.»
Criticism also highlights the imbalance between classroom cuts and administrative costs.
«This occurs in a context of fabulous salaries within the service management, an example being the salary of its executive director, which reaches ten million pesos,» Yáñez denounces.
For the leader, the contrast is clear: while schools survive due to the everyday efforts of educational workers, the administration responds with what he describes as «job insecurity and anti-union practices.»
Local Annual Plan
The implementation of the Local Annual Plan (PAL), a tool used by SLEP to justify the cuts, is also under scrutiny.
«The PAL does not reflect the reality of our territory; it is a tool that SLEP currently uses to validate adjustments in a climate of public education crisis,» Yáñez asserts, claiming that this plan has become a means to cover decisions that do not consider community or pedagogical impact.
The mobilizations that began this week continue unabated, reflecting a mounting discontent and a clear conviction: the defense of teaching dignity cannot be postponed.
«This mobilization is on the rise; we will not allow another context of job insecurity. Together we are stronger. We must defend teaching dignity,» Yáñez concludes.
What started with notifications and rumors in the hallways has turned into a public debate: SLEP Andalién Costa faces its greatest challenge since its inception, and for organized teachers, what is at stake is not just employment, but the very future of public education in the region.
The Citizen
La entrada Rising Mobilization: SLEP Andalién Costa Faces Pressure from Mass Layoffs and Claims of Job Insecurity se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.
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