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UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 000928 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DRL FOR MMITTELHAUSER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB ECON SCUL HO
SUBJECT: ZELAYA ENDS TEACHERS STRIKE WITH PROMISES TO PAY 
BACK-WAGES, DETAILS OF FUNDING UNCLEAR 
 
Classified by Ambassador Hugo Llorens, reasons 1.4 (b & d) 
 
¶1. Summary:  Honduran President "Mel" Manuel Zelaya ended the 
latest teacher strike over unpaid back-wages by promising to 
pay over 300 million Lempira (USD 15.8 million) to the 
teachers by year,s end.  Protests this year have cost over 
2.5 million primary and secondary schoolchildren nearly two 
months of the school year.  Details regarding how the 
government of Honduras will finance the payments to teachers 
or precisely which and how many teachers are owed back-wages 
remain unclear. End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Fifty thousand teachers began a nation-wide strike 
on September 23, to protest wages owed to 
5,000 of them by the GOH since early 2008.  Those 
participating in the strike besides the unpaid teachers 
included professors from six professional colleges grouped 
together as the Federation of Teacher Organizations (FOHM) 
and thousands of teachers from outside of the capital.  This 
latest strike lasted a total of nine days, from September 23 
to October 1.  Protestors blocked the bridges that surround 
the city center, disrupted traffic, and then surrounded the 
Honduran Congress building and prevented 
Deputies from leaving their offices, literally holding them 
hostage, until approximately 23:00 on September 30.  (Note: 
President of the Congress Roberto Micheletti publicly 
questioned why security forces did not come to the Congress 
when summoned by him.  Micheletti has subsequently proposed 
the creation of a 1,000 strong police-force dedicated solely 
to the protection of Congress. End note.) 
 
¶3. (U) Prior to sitting down to negotiate, Zelaya met 
directly with a crowd of protesting teachers 
outside his offices.  He stated that he would pay every cent 
owed and complimented the combative and revolutionary nature 
of the teacher's leadership.  In a meeting with Zelaya on 
October 1, representatives of the teaches accepted an 
agreement to end the strike.  The agreement provides the 
5,000 teachers, 
un-paid since February 2008, 300 million Lempiras (USD 15.8 
million) in back-wages.  Payments will be made in three 
tranches beginning on October 10th and terminating December 
¶20.  The agreement includes salary and benefit increases, and 
additional positions.  In addition, a percentage of the 
national budget will now be set aside for teachers' salaries, 
something already done for doctors, nurses, and public 
workers. 
 
¶4. Comment: (C) Teachers and their unions have been a thorn 
in the side of a number of recent administrations, regardless 
of party orientation.  The Maduro administration (2002-2006) 
forced the teachers to accept structural changes that 
diminished their power.  Since Zelaya took office, the 
teachers have been seeking to reverse those changes and have 
seen Zelaya as an ally, both because of his frequent populist 
rhetoric and because his mother was a teacher.  Some 
political analysts believe that Zelaya gave the teachers what 
they wanted in order to form a loyal group of activists that 
he could call on to take the streets upon command.  Concerns 
remain regarding the number of teachers eligible for payment, 
as the GOH has indicated that credible data concerning the 
number of teachers owed does not exist.  Press sources have 
speculated that funding could come from Venezuelan government 
assistance, a short-term commercial loan or increased tax 
revenues. 
 
¶5. (C) Comment continued: Teachers are widely disdained in 
Honduras.  Many are poorly trained and some are simply 
appointed as a political favor.  The fact that approximately 
2.5 million primary and secondary students have missed over 
40 days of the semester due to this strike has done nothing 
to improve teachers' popularity.  Meanwhile, average 
educational attainment of Honduran adults continues to lag 
well behind the Latin American average at just 6.7 years, and 
the secondary school enrollment rate is less than half the 
regional average at just 41 percent, according to Ministry of 
Education data and World Bank World Development Indicators. 
End comment. 
LLORENS