The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESCTI) says, in a press release, that "actions are taking place at the executive level, in the context of a more general approach to the salary issue of public administration".
For the ministry, the salary increase for university professors "is a delicate and complex process that requires considering a set of variables that guarantee the sustainability of any counter-proposal presented by the executive".
According to the Government, the concerns of university professors, contained in their claims book, have deserved the attention of the country's authorities.
Salary increases, better working conditions, payment of public debt and elections of the governing bodies of public higher education institutions are some of the demands of teachers on strike since January 3, 2022.
According to the secretary-general of the Union of Higher Education Teachers (Sinpes), Eduardo Peres Alberto, the strike, for an indefinite period, arises as a result of "non-compliance" with the memorandum of understanding signed in November 2021.
A salary equivalent to 2000 dollars for the assistant professor intern and 5000 dollars for the full professor are the salary proposals of Sinpes to counteract the current "mediocre salaries".
"Our salary proposal results from a study of the salaries practiced in the southern and central southern Africa region, but, in the salary scope, in addition to the readjustment, it is essential that this is indexed to the daily exchange rate and that the IRT (Tax of Work Income) because the subsidies are not income, but bonuses", recently argued the teacher to Lusa.
The "incompletion" of the payment of public debt for about 3,000 higher education employees, including teaching and administrative staff, which until 2018 was valued at 2.3 billion kwanzas is also part of Sinpes' claims.
The ministry refers that the memorandum of understanding "established deadlines for completing the actions that were in progress", as in the claim book, and notes that the declaration of the Sinpes strike "harms the implementation of the academic calendar".
Regarding the elections in educational institutions, the ministerial body says that electoral regulations of 13 institutions are already published in the Diário da República and these can already trigger the electoral process.
The ministry validated the public debt of 2858 employees and collaborators (administrative and teaching staff) and assures, without specifying the amount, that "the debt of 2733 employees has already been settled, leaving only 125 of those covered".
"Subject that is deserving the best attention of the Ministry of Finance", reads the statement.
The continuation of the strike, indefinitely, and the consequent stoppage of teaching activities "harms the implementation of the academic calendar and prevents a large part of the students from continuing their learning".
"The executive, within the scope of its mission, recognizes the vital role of the teacher and will continue to act for their dignification, at the same time that other actions will continue to be implemented to improve the quality of the conditions for the exercise of the teaching-learning process. and scientific research", he also refers in the note.
The ministry "recommends that the academic community observe the principles and values that guide the noble mission of higher education institutions and urges students to be present in their institutions, as there are professors who continue to teach classes" and expressed "full availability " to "continue to maintain the dialogue" with Sinpes.
