GOP WINS BATTLE AGAINST RADICAL TEACHER,S UNION

UNCLAS LIMA 000167

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR PE
SUBJECT: GOP WINS BATTLE AGAINST RADICAL TEACHER,S UNION

REF: LIMA 33

Sensitive But Unclassified. Please handle accordingly.


1. (SBU) Summary: More than 60 per cent of teachers
nationwide took the government-mandated competency test,
handing the GOP a victory in its showdown against the
powerful and radical union SUTEP. In some provinces outside
Lima SUTEP members bullied test-takers and physically blocked
access to testing centers. After the exam, the GOP reduced
by 90 percent government supported union positions and
eliminated the automatic paycheck deduction that supports a
union controlled social fund. SUTEP said it would challenge
the personnel cuts in international fora, which is ironic for
a group more committed to a defunct radicalism than to
representing the teachers and improving the education system.
End Summary.

Competency test - 60 percent of teachers turn out
-------------- --------------

2. (U) The GOP held firm on administering the January 8
compulsory teacher competency test (Ref A). The Unified
Syndicate of Educational Workers of Peru (SUTEP) rejected the
test but officially left the decision to participate up to
individuals. Education Ministry officials estimated 60
percent of teachers nationwide took the test, 70 percent in
Lima, while SUTEP Secretary General Caridad Montes said only
20 percent of teachers had taken the exam. Education
Minister Jose Antonio Chang said teachers who were not able
to test would have an opportunity for a make-up exam on
January 22. Based on the test results, Chang said the
ministry would invest 30 million USD in a teacher training
program.


3. (U) In Lima, SUTEP held marches which at times disrupted
traffic. In some provinces outside Lima, SUTEP associated
violence led to high absenteeism. In Junin, Puno and
Huancavelica departments, SUTEP members physically prevented
teachers from entering test sites by blocking access,
throwing objects at participating teachers, and in one case
taking over a building. In Huaraz, the capital of Ancash
department, police used tear gas to control SUTEP
demonstrators.

Teacher's Union takes some hits
--------------

4. (SBU) On 1/9 the GOP published a decree to reduce from 314
to 30 the number of SUTEP representatives who only perform
union functions but still draw government teacher salaries.
On 1/12 the GOP followed up with another decree eliminating
the automatic salary deduction that goes to a teacher social
fund, the "Derrama Magisterial" which is largely controlled
by SUTEP. (Note: According to Oscar Muro of the local
chapter of the AFL-CIO, the fund sometimes aids teachers in
need but is often misused. He further said that 30
subsidized representatives was a generous number given that
no other union in the country has such a high number of
positions as a percentage of membership. End Note.) Chang
said the staff reductions would save more than 1 million USD
per year. In the press, President Garcia referred to the
union reps that did not teach as "lazy scoundrels." The cuts
will occur through attrition and non-renewal of licenses;
those affected, if qualified, could sign up to be teachers.
In response, SUTEP charged that the government was punishing
the union for opposing the exam and said it would appeal the
decisions to international authorities like the International
Labor Organization (ILO).

SUTEP - a hijacked labor union
--------------

5. (SBU) SUTEP is a vehicle for radical leadership rooted in
the Maoist wing of the Peruvian Communist Party, Patria Roja
(Red Fatherland) (ref). According to labor experts, SUTEP is
controlled by a political faction only marginally focused on
the best interests of teachers, let alone education, and
regional branches of the union are often even more radical
than the central leadership. Patria Roja took control of the
union in 1978 and has retained control by employing an
undemocratic, indirect system of election. (On January 16,
SUTEP issued a press release announcing a nationwide strike
to oppose the GOP pilot program and "neoliberal proposal
imposed by the World Bank" to transfer school management from
the central government to municipalities and schools.)

Comment
--------------

6. (SBU) The government efforts to rein in SUTEP and its
radical, anti-democratic tendencies and to reduce its
out-dated and excessive state subsidies, have been welcomed
by most Peruvians. SUTEP's attempts to portray GOP efforts
as "union-busting" are ironic given the group's autocratic
ways, its commitment to a defunct communist ideology, and its
apparent indifference to the interests of teachers,
specifically, and education in general. End Comment.
POWERS