Teachers across Argentina launched a nationwide strike after unions accused the government of refusing to resume salary negotiations and restore education funding.
The action coincides with the return to classes in several provinces and forms part of broader labor unrest over austerity measures.
Teachers across Argentina launched a 24-hour strike demanding salary talks, restored education funding and the return of a key wage incentive.
Teachers across Argentina launched a nationwide 24-hour strike on Monday after unions accused President Javier Milei’s government of refusing to resume salary negotiations and restore key education funding, disrupting classes as students returned to school in several provinces.
The strike, organized by the Confederation of Education Workers (CTERA), involves preschool, primary and secondary school teachers nationwide. Unions are calling for the immediate reinstatement of the National Teacher Incentive Fund (FONID), increased funding for schools and educational programs, and the passage of a new education financing law.
The walkout coincides with the start of the school term in the City and Province of Buenos Aires, Chaco and Santiago del Estero, although its impact is expected to extend across the country. While public schools are bearing the brunt of the disruption, some private institutions are also expected to participate, depending on decisions by their teaching staff and unions, including the Argentine Private Teachers’ Union (SADOP).
Text Reads: Public education is defended in the streets and in every school 
This August 3, #CTERA calls for the #ParoNacionalDocente national teachers’ strike to demand salary increases, national collective bargaining, reinstatement of the FONID, and defense of teachers’ pensions.
In a joint statement, teacher unions said educators’ salaries have continued to lose purchasing power while the government has failed to restore FONID and other national education funds. They also criticized proposals they say would weaken labor protections, pension rights and the right to public education.
“The salaries of teachers continue to lose purchasing power, the government has failed to reinstate FONID and national education funding, and initiatives continue to advance that seek to cut labor rights, pension rights and the social right to education.”
The unions said their demand for an urgent salary adjustment and increased education funding reflects wages that have fallen behind inflation, as well as insufficient resources for schools and school meal programs. They also rejected the proposed Educational Freedom Law and potential pension reforms, calling instead for the protection of Argentina’s public, solidarity-based pension system.
Strike Broadens Across the Education Sector
The industrial action extends beyond primary and secondary schools. It includes public school teachers and education support staff affiliated with CTERA and its member unions nationwide, teachers in Buenos Aires Province represented by organizations including SUTEBA, FEB, UDOCBA and AMET, and university faculty represented by unions such as CONADU Histórica.
In Buenos Aires Province, dissident groups within SUTEBA, including the Multicolor faction and the Buenos Aires Teachers’ Association, have proposed extending the protest to 48 hours, potentially continuing the strike through Tuesday.
“Teachers across the country are striking and mobilizing to confront and defeat the anti-education offensive of Milei’s right-wing government and the austerity policies of all provincial governors without exception, which have plunged public education into a state of absolute emergency.”
Wider Labor Unrest
Separately, the State Workers’ Association (ATE) also called a nationwide strike for Monday, a move expected to limit operations at provincial and national government offices.
The teachers’ walkout comes amid broader labor unrest in Argentina, where unions say government austerity measures have eroded workers’ living standards through declining real wages, reduced public funding and proposed labor and pension reforms. Teacher organizations said demonstrations and rallies planned across the country are intended to highlight their demands for fair wages and adequate funding for the public education system.
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