Santiago de Chile, June 24 (teleSUR-RHC)-- The Chilean teachers union announced it will meet on Wednesday to analyze whether they will continue the indefinite strike declared over two weeks ago after lawmakers and government officials committed to make changes to a new teaching career bill. The law would modify the teaching career system and its wages, implementing an evaluation process which would determine the salary assigned to each teacher.
 

Currently, Chilean educators are paid according to their years in service. Many fear the new system would endanger education given that it would not provide incentives for teachers to stay in the career.

Last week, the Chilean Parliament sent a proposal which incorporates changes over several points in the original project which sparked the strike. The law is part of the education reform launched by President Michelle Bachellet.

Several government officials met with teachers representatives and claimed they agreed to incorporate the points that teachers have raised into the bill. According to several lawmakers, the proposal submitted to teachers incorporates commitments for which the government has publicly claimed it would be responsible.

The new proposal does not modify the remuneration system based in longevity, and instead introduces a set of standards for entry, accompanied by a performance midterm evaluation for teachers during their induction program. The induction program is meant to facilitate and improve the performance of new teachers. The proposal submitted by the lawmakers also offers an increased salary for new teachers as an incentive for beginners.