Luanda, July 18, 2025 (Lusa) - The Angolan National Teachers' Union (Sinprof) has submitted a new list of 11 demands to the government, calling for the implementation of previous commitments made by the Ministry of Education and raising new concerns.

The list of demands was delivered on Wednesday and, by law, the Ministry of Education must respond in writing by next Tuesday, Sinprof leader Admar Jinguma told Lusa on Friday.

According to Admar Jinguba, under the Strike Law, the government has 20 days to open a possible negotiation phase, noting that a strike "is always a possibility."

"A strike is always a possibility, whenever workers submit a list of demands, the process begins right there," said the union leader, while expressing openness to direct negotiations to reach a consensus.

In the 11 points, Sinprof demands, among other issues, the allocation of a specific budget for schools, sourced from the state budget, better working conditions for teachers, as well as a salary adjustment in view of the disparities with similar professional categories, and the timely distribution of school textbooks to primary school pupils.

With regard to the outstanding points resulting from agreements signed with the Angolan Executive, Sinprof's list of demands includes, for example, the holding of an internal competition to level the careers of teachers with mismatched careers.

The payment of holiday allowances on a separate payslip, a thirteenth month's salary in a single instalment and the payment of an exam bonus to those in management and leadership positions are also included in the list of demands.

Between 2021 and 2023, the parties reached an agreement, after a teachers' strike, with the signing of several agreements, namely a memorandum of understanding in 2021, the agreement on the promotion of teachers and the levelling of mismatched careers in 2022, and the signing of a commitment document in 2023.

"The Ministry of Education has deliberately failed to comply with what was agreed. We have called on the Ministry of Education to base our relationship on avoiding the clashes we have had in recent times," said Admar Jinguma.

The Sinprof leader also stressed the need for a salary adjustment for teachers in view of the disparities that exist with other similar professional areas, such as higher education, doctors and nurses.

"There are disparities that are not understood between the salary of teachers and the salary of these professional categories in the civil service," he said.

In 2021, teachers staged a strike in several phases, which ended after reaching an agreement with the Ministry of Education, with some of their demands being met.

NME/AYLS // AYLS

Lusa

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