Morelos technical school teacher strikes

Teachers and administrative staff in Morelos, Mexico, have launched an indefinite strike involving approximately 3,000 workers across 25 technical high school campuses. The labor action is driven by a federal debt exceeding 60 million pesos, which includes unpaid seniority bonuses, retirement benefits, and other compensations that some workers claim date back to 2020.

The strike affects institutions under the General Directorate of Industrial Technological Education (DGETI) and the General Directorate of Agricultural Technological Education and Sea Sciences (DGETAyCM), potentially disrupting the education of 20,000 students.

While a national working group has been established to address the issue, union leaders, including Joel Sánchez Vélez of the National Union of Education Workers (SNTE), have stated that current proposals do not meet minimum requirements. The union has also demanded greater transparency in worker promotion processes and has threatened to expand protests to Mexico City to target the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP) if a definitive solution is not reached.

In recent developments, the Government of Morelos has entered into dialogue with the Executive Power Workers Union to address labor demands. However, tensions escalated on October 13 when union members blocked access to the Government Palace, causing disruptions to public services and administrative procedures. Officials characterized the paralysis of services as “unacceptable.”

In response, Secretary of Administration and Finance Jorge Salazar Acosta stated that the administration is following legal procedures under the instruction of Governor Margarita González Saravia. To provide financial certainty, the state executive announced it will directly distribute a one-time Christmas bonus of over 1,800 pesos to union members. Additionally, officials addressed allegations of a hiring freeze, clarifying that delays in personnel movements are standard fiscal year-end procedures rather than targeted measures against unionized staff.