The strike of municipal teachers in Belo Horizonte, which has already lasted almost 30 days, had a new chapter on Monday (25/5) with the breakdown of dialogue between the Union of Workers in Education of the Municipal Public Network of BH (Sind-Rede) and the Municipal Secretariat of Education (Smed). The teachers, secretariat workers, and librarians of the municipal network filled the door of the Municipal Prefecture of Belo Horizonte (PBH) to pressure the prefecture for an agreement on the demands of the category, but left dissatisfied. The municipal secretary of Education, Natália Araújo, stated that the prefecture had met the requests of the category and that she would only return to talk after the end of the strike.
The strike exposed a split between the union and the Municipal Secretariat of Education
The strike exposed a split between the union and the Municipal Secretariat of Education, with accusations of precariousness of the service, lack of transparency, and what they call “disguised privatisation” of the Specialized Educational Assistance (AEE). The union denounces that the Prefecture transferred pedagogical attributions to 21 Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), removing public control over the care of children with disabilities and neurodivergents. The secretary Natália Araújo countered, stating that “there is no truth in saying that the service is being privatized” and that the professionals are just changing employers. The prefecture offered seven points in substitution for the maintenance of the old model with the CSOs, which were met until Monday (25/5), according to the secretary.
The union also complains about the refusal of the PBH to disclose the real allocation of professionals, which would have generated schools with a lack of up to 11 teachers per shift. Regarding the salary replacement, the union states that the real proposal of the Prefecture for 2026 is only 4.11%, and not the 6.51% disclosed by the secretary Natália Araújo. The secretary also denied rumors of cuts in the education budget, stating that “the Constitution determines that 25% of all municipal revenue goes to education”. The “disguised privatisation” and the “precariousness of the service” are critical points that remain unsolved.
The strike continues without a solution, with the union and the prefecture on opposite sides. The lack of transparency and the refusal to meet the demands of the category continue to be points of tension. Meanwhile, students and the school community continue to be affected by the paralysis. The situation reflects a broader scenario of tensions between the public power and the servers, which may have consequences in other areas.
