Government and unions agree on a salary increase for teachers: this will be the percentage

The Ministry of Education announced it has reached an agreement with teachers' unions to raise their salaries. According to the agreement, an additional 3 percent increase will be made to the annual salary increase decreed for public employees.

The additional increase, according to the Ministry of Education, will be distributed over the next three years, allocating 0.4% in 2026, 1.3% in 2027, and 1.3% in 2028.

"It should be noted that this increase, combined with what was agreed upon in the 2023 union negotiations, represents a 6% salary increase for teachers between 2024 and 2028, making progress in closing the salary gap compared to other public servants," the ministry said in a statement.

In the letter, the Ministry of Education also emphasized that "a special recognition equivalent to 0.5 percentage points will be assigned for each additional three-year period that educators serve beyond their last promotion."

This percentage, the statement indicates, will be deferred over three years: 17% in 2026, 40% in 2027, and 43% in 2028.

"This special recognition scheme does not modify the ranking or promotion requirements, and is intended as a temporary and complementary measure aimed at correcting historical inequalities," the ministry clarified.

The agreement was reached after several weeks of collaborative work between teachers, school administrators, administrative staff, and representatives of the National Government.

"As this was a negotiation with a unified list of demands, this process allowed for significant agreements to be reached with teaching directors and administrative unions in the sector. Thus, among the commitments to Teaching Directors, the Ministry will organize a technical meeting with the Administrative Department of the Civil Service and the signatory unions to analyze and unify the criteria for the liquidation and certification of teaching directors' payroll," the statement said.

Regarding the agreements reached with administrative staff, it is worth noting that in the proposed amendment to the Competences Law of the General Participation System (SGP), the Ministry of National Education will include the administrative staff of educational institutions within the educational basket, which may be increased in order to guarantee the provision of quality educational services, decent work, and the closing of gaps.

In total, this negotiation process led to an agreement on 52 points in the Chapter on Preschool, Basic and Secondary Education, including three points of fiscal impact , agreed upon with the support of the Ministry of Labor, Finance and the Administrative Department of the Civil Service, which will be incorporated into the minutes of the National Roundtable.

After the news broke, EL TIEMPO contacted Germán Patiño, president of Sintrenal—the union of education workers and employees that announced an indefinite strike starting July 14—to ask if this decision is still in effect.

And he stated: "They published the new agreement signed with all the organizations participating in this negotiation, but they are still violating the agreement of May 30, 2024."

"Until we receive the document and the debts are certified, the strike remains in place. Compliance with the 2024 agreement with Sintrenal is still pending, which is what has us on alert today. If there is no solution, we will go on an indefinite national strike starting July 14," he added.

The agreements Sintrenal refers to were signed on May 30, 2024 , with the Ministry of Education to resolve the non-payment of debts for "salary standardization and equalization," outstanding for more than ten years.

At that time, the Ministry of National Education committed to urgently submitting a request to the Consultation and Civil Service Chamber of the Council of State to determine the time limit for retroactive pay for salary equalization for administrative staff in preschool, elementary, and secondary education.

The measure, led by then-Minister Aurora Vergara Figueroa, is part of the agreements. In this regard, the Council of State issued Concept 2535, which endorses the certification and immediate payment of labor debts.

"@SintrenalN demands that @Mineducacion comply with labor agreements, such as the payment of debts, compliance with Council of State concept 2535, and payment for areas that are difficult to access for education administrative staff," Sintrenal wrote on social media a few days ago.