A few weeks ago, we reported on a controversial salary increase granted to all chief executive officers in the Briceno administration, including C.E.O. Dian Maheia. The pay raise, implemented after the recent general election, has angered teachers and public officers who feel the government is neglecting their needs as workers. This morning, C.E.O. Maheia shared her perspective on the issue, adding fuel to the ongoing debate. The discontent among educators and public servants continues to grow as they demand more support and fair compensation from the government.
Dian Maheia, C.E.O., Ministry of Education
“That raise was not something, and I think that I need to speak here for all my colleagues, was not something that we actively pursued; but, in the grand scheme of things, that amounts to $250,000, more or less, which is less than one percent of what we are looking at in the big picture, compared to 8.5% for teachers. It’s difficult to be held to account for something when you work hard and you are producing. You didn’t go and ask your boss for a raise, your boss said to you, you’ve done well. Here I sit, responsible for three hundred million dollars of this country’s hard-earned money and I am being held to account for the people that I work for in good faith for something that I appreciate because I feel that the prime minister, in good faith, said to us as CEOs, “We feel like you’ve worked hard, you deserve this.”
Paul Lopez
“Is it your view any at all that teachers and public servants at large deserve any sort of raise at this point? 8.5% is the request.”
Dian Maheia
“That’s not a question I can answer because if you begin to ask people whether or not they deserve raises, everybody thinks that they do. That’s a difficult question for you to ask, or rather it’s a difficult question for me to answer and I wouldn’t presume to do that.”