Thousands of teachers across Puerto Rico left school and protested their working conditions and wages on Friday, AP reports.
Driving the news: Schools in San Juan and other cities, including Mayaguez and Aguada, were without teachers as they took to the streets, clapping and banging on pots to demand higher wages.
- More than 70% of public school teachers were absent from school on Friday, according to Puerto Rico's Department of Education, per AP. Approximately 5,000, or 25%, of teachers were absent on Thursday.
The big picture: Last month, a federal control board overseeing Puerto Rico’s finances approved a fiscal plan that increases teachers' salaries by 27% compared with what they made in fiscal year 2019.
- Puerto Rico’s Association of Teachers, which is requesting that base salaries increase to $3,500 a month, rejected the plan.
- "Bankruptcy cannot continue to be used as an excuse," the association of teachers said, per AP.
- "Teachers do not want to be rendered invisible any more nor offered any more crumbs, but rather a concrete solution that provides them with a better quality of life."
Go deeper: Federal judge approves Puerto Rico's plan to cut debt by 80%