Argentine teachers strike for higher pay

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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- Thousands of teachers idled public school classrooms across Argentina on Monday with a daylong national strike, demanding higher pay and justice after a teacher was killed last week in a protest clash with police.

More than 2,000 teachers rallied at the stone monument known as the Obelisk in the capital, joined by sympathetic leftist labor groups and human rights activists, and began a traffic-snarling march at midday through the capital, beating drums and waving protest banners.

It was the first large-scale demonstration by state workers and labor groups in this presidential election year, posing a challenge to the center-left government of President Nestor Kirchner as he bids to end Argentina's double-digit inflation and keep the purchasing power of paychecks from eroding further.

Teachers complain that pay hikes have not kept pace with inflation, in a country where Kirchner's ruling Peronists are heavily favored for an October presidential vote.

The strike also tapped widespread anger among teachers and labor groups after police used tear gas and water cannons to repel a teacher demonstration last week that left one person dead in the southwestern province of Neuquen, about 720 miles (950 kilometers) southwest of Buenos Aires.

A 41-year-old high school teacher, Carlos Fuentealba, died Thursday after head injuries received during the Neuquen disturbances. Protesters charged he was struck by a tear gas canister fired by police at close range.

A large leftist labor union, the Argentine Workers' Central or CTA, said it was taking part in Monday's work stoppage along with human rights activists.

"Those responsible for these criminal acts must be punished," said Hugo Yasky of the CTA, whose union is one of two main columns in the larger General Labor Confederation that dominates union life in Argentina.

Teachers held rallies in other locations across the South American country.

Source: CNN WORLD