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Teachers in Peru Join National Strike Despite Threats of Pay Deductions
On Thursday, the Unitary Union of Education Workers of Peru (Sutep) held a 24-hour national strike in public educational institutions, demanding a larger budget, adherence to labor agreements, and the implementation of pension regulations for the teaching profession. The action took place even though the Ministry of Education (Minedu) declared it unauthorized and warned that staff who were absent would face pay deductions.
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The day of protest included gatherings and marches in the country’s major cities. In Lima, demonstrators assembled at the union’s headquarters on Jirón Camaná, in the capital’s historic center. In Arequipa, marches began in the morning, departing from union offices.
Sutep’s leadership, headed by Secretary General Lucio Castro, presented a list of demands focused on education funding, working conditions, and pensions for retired and former teachers.
Among their primary demands, the union calls for the effective allocation of 6% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to the education sector. According to the union, these resources should address deficiencies in school infrastructure, student nutrition, and access to technology and connectivity.
Teachers are also demanding the immediate regulation and implementation of a law enacted in April 2026, which mandates that the pensions of retired and former teachers—those who were part of the Public Teaching Career—be adjusted to an amount equivalent to the first tier of the teaching salary scale: S/ 3,500.70. This measure is currently the subject of a constitutional challenge before the Constitutional Court.
🏫 El Ministerio de Educación declaró improcedente el paro nacional convocado por el Sutep para este jueves y anunció que verificará la asistencia de los docentes en colegios de todo el país.
— TVPerú Noticias (@noticias_tvperu) October 29, 2026
El viceministro de Gestión Institucional, Luis Alemán, informó que habrá visitas de… pic.twitter.com/Yhwiok4cKc
The text reads, “The Ministry of Education declared the national strike called by the Sutep for this Thursday inadmissible and announced that it will verify the attendance of teachers in schools throughout the country. The Vice Minister of Institutional Management, Luis Alemán, reported that there will be field visits and warned that discounts will be applied for absences. “Education will not be paralyzed today,” he affirmed.”
Furthermore, Sutep is calling for full compliance with the collective bargaining agreement, salary increases, and the timely payment of the “Compensation for Length of Service” (CTS) benefit. The Ministry of Education (Minedu) issued General Secretariat Resolution No. 239-2026-MINEDU, declaring the planned national strike inadmissible on the grounds that it failed to meet the requirements established for the regular basic education sector, which is classified as an essential public service.
The Ministry urged families to send students to their schools and mandated that school principals submit lists of absent staff to the Local Educational Management Units (UGEL) and the Regional Education Directorates (DRE).
The Ministry specified that direct payroll deductions will be applied for hours or days not worked, and that potential administrative disciplinary proceedings will be considered against those who participate in the industrial action.
The continuation of in-person classes depends on the extent to which teachers, administrative staff, and service personnel at each institution choose to participate in the strike. Union leadership in Lima warned that the absence of support and cleaning staff could hinder the operational opening of several schools.
Hamer Villena, secretary of the SUTEP union in Arequipa, did not rule out escalating the protests into an indefinite national strike before the end of the 2026 school year or in early 2027, should the Executive branch fail to establish a negotiation table that offers concrete solutions.
