Chilean Teachers March as Strike over Education Bill Continues

Thousands of Chilean teachers took once again to the streets of capital Santiago Wednesday, as part of the indefinite national strike to protest an education reform bill proposed by the government of President Michelle Bachelet.

Authorities said marches were reported in at least five other cities across the country.

The demonstrations come as the government said it is open to talks with the teachers unions, the Education Ministry and the Education Commission of the lower house of Congress.

However, no deal has been reached so far in previous talks and teachers say they have no expectations of progress, prompting a new wave of demonstrations. Previous marches have often ended with clashes, and activists charging police with excessive use of force.

The bill, which is currently going through Congress, proposes reorganizing the salary-scale for teachers, while increasing the time that they have to spend in “non-school hours,” including meetings and planning. Teachers who do not fulfill these new rules would be dismissed, under the new law.

The march has been joined by members of the coutry's two main high-school student confederations and the national strike is also backed by the Chile’s largest trade union confederation, the CUT.

The education crisis in Chile has been at the center of the country’s political debate over the past decade, with mass demonstrations and strikes staged by students and teachers calling for major reforms to the country’s infamously expensive and poorly run education system.