GUATEMALA CITY – Thousands of teachers from all of Guatemala’s 22 provinces occupied the capital’s Constitution Square on Wednesday to press the government for a 16 percent pay raise.

While union official Rumulado Maldonado told Efe that some 70,000 teachers were taking part, the number in Constitution Square was closer to 5,000.

The head of the ANM union that convened the protest, Joviel Acevedo, said the teachers will remain camped out in the square in tents and cardboard boxes until the government agreed to the 16 percent pay hike, half of which is intended to make up for the promised 8 percent raise the government failed to deliver last year.

Guatemalan teachers earn a median salary of $440 a month, though many are employed under individual contracts that pay only around $240 a month.

President Alvaro Colom said Wednesday that his administration can offer only an increase of 8 percent and reminded teachers of the benefits they receive in addition to their salaries, such as health insurance.

Urging the teachers to return to the negotiating table, he said that while their demands are justified, the government simply doesn’t have the money to meet them.

Colom asked the teachers to await the outcome of his efforts to reform Guatemala’s tax system with an eye toward boosting revenue. EFE