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| Colegio de Profesores de Chile | |
|---|---|
| Name | Colegio de Profesores de Chile |
| Formation | 1974 |
| Type | Trade union |
| Headquarters | Santiago, Chile |
| Location | Chile |
| Leader title | President |
Colegio de Profesores de Chile is a national professional association and trade union representing primary and secondary school teachers in Santiago and across Chile. Founded amid political turmoil and labor mobilization, it has engaged with public institutions, political parties, social movements, and international organizations to influence teachers' rights and public policy. The association interacts with ministries, universities, student federations, municipal federations, and civil society actors.
The organization emerged during the era of Salvador Allende, the aftermath of the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, and the Pinochet dictatorship, interacting with actors such as the Central Única de Trabajadores and later the Concertación coalition. During the transition to democracy alongside figures from the Christian Democratic Party, the Socialist Party of Chile, the Party for Democracy (Chile), and the Communist Party of Chile, the association reconstituted its presence amid reforms led by the Ministry of Education (Chile) and debates over the Organic Constitutional Law on Teaching (LOCE). In the 1990s and 2000s it coordinated with the Confederación Nacional de Trabajadores and unions linked to the Universidad de Chile, the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, and the Universidad de Santiago de Chile. Major episodes include mass mobilizations echoing demands seen in protests connected to the 2006 student protests in Chile and the 2011–2013 Chilean student protests, dialogues with presidents such as Ricardo Lagos, Michelle Bachelet, and Sebastián Piñera, and interactions with international bodies like the International Labour Organization and the OECD.
The association's internal structures mirror models used by unions like the Confederación de Trabajadores de la Educación and federations such as the Asociación Nacional de Profesionales. Governance involves elected leadership, assemblies, and regional secretaryships that coordinate with municipal delegations in cities like Valparaíso, Concepción, La Serena, Antofagasta, and Punta Arenas. It conducts national congresses akin to deliberative practices in the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT) and follows statutes comparable to those in professional bodies such as the Colegio Médico de Chile and the Bar Association of Chile. Leadership elections have involved personalities known within wider political circles including activists from the Frente Amplio (Chile), members linked to the Movimiento Amplio Social (MAS), and former affiliates of the Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria.
Membership comprises teachers from municipal schools and subsidized private establishments, interacting with municipal authorities such as the Asociación Chilena de Municipalidades and national administrations like the Dirección de Educación Municipal (DEM). The association negotiates collective bargaining rights similar to agreements between the Asociación Nacional de Funcionarios and municipal governments, while representing teachers employed under frameworks shaped by laws such as the Ley General de Educación and the Ley de Subvenciones. Its constituency overlaps with alumni and faculty networks at universities including the Universidad Católica del Norte, Universidad Diego Portales, Universidad de Valparaíso, and Universidad Austral de Chile.
The association has organized strikes, marches, and campaigns linked to movements represented by groups like the Asociación Nacional de Estudiantes (FECH), Junta Nacional de Auxiliares, and labor coalitions such as the CUT. Campaigns have targeted ministerial policies from administrations of Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle to Gabriel Boric and included nationwide mobilizations that converged with protests in plazas such as Plaza de la Constitución and Plaza Baquedano. It has launched professional development initiatives in collaboration with institutions like the UNESCO Chile Office, the Inter-American Development Bank, and university education faculties at facilities including the Escuela de Psicología de la Universidad de Chile.
The association has lobbied legislatures including the Chamber of Deputies of Chile and the Senate of Chile, interfacing with ministers from the Ministry of Education (Chile) and policymakers associated with pension reform debates in the Administradoras de Fondos de Pensiones. It has allied or clashed with political actors across the spectrum including representatives of the Independent Democratic Union, National Renewal (Chile), and the Radical Party of Chile, and engaged public debate during constitutional processes like the 2019–2020 Chilean protests and the 2022 Chilean constitutional plebiscite. International outreach has included meetings with delegations from the European Trade Union Confederation and educational bodies in Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Mexico, and Spain.
The association has faced criticism from municipal authorities in provinces such as Biobío Region and Maule Region, and from political leaders in coalitions like the Chile Vamos bloc, over strike tactics and demands perceived as disruptive to school calendars established by the Junta Nacional de Auxiliares de Educación. Internal disputes have arisen akin to factional conflicts seen in organizations like the Partido Socialista de Chile and the PRSD, provoking debates in national outlets and legal challenges in courts such as the Corte Suprema de Chile. Some critiques referenced funding and transparency controversies similar to issues raised around institutions like the Corporación Nacional Forestal and the Servicio Nacional de Menores.
Through negotiations and public campaigns, the association influenced reforms around teacher evaluation, salary frameworks, and school governance, intersecting with policies enacted under administrations of Patricio Aylwin, Jorge Alessandri, and later presidents. Its actions contributed to debates on the Ley General de Educación and reforms that led to changes in subsidy mechanisms associated with the Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Regional (FNDR) and the role of municipal education management. The association's mobilizations helped raise issues taken up in hearings before the Comisión de Educación del Senado and public agendas advanced by ministers such as Marcela Cubillos and Helia Molina.