Pay pushes Venezuelan teachers to protest, consider quitting

FILE - A teacher holds a sign that reads in Spanish: "Living wage now!" during a pro-government protest by public workers demanding the government pay their full benefits and respect collective bargaining agreements in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)

FILE - A Venezuelan flag is reflected in the sunglasses of a student federation member during a protest by public workers demanding the government pay their full benefits and respect collective bargaining agreements in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)

FILE - A teacher holds a sign that reads in Spanish: "University professors stand firm with Maduro," referring to President Nicolas Maduro, during a pro-government protest by public workers demanding the government pay their full benefits and respect collective bargaining agreements in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)

$FILE - A worker fixes a water leak at a public school while students are out for summer vacation in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022. A few days into their long break, teachers have been marching by the thousands around the country, threatening to strike when school resumes or possibly even to abandon their profession after the government paid them only a tiny fraction of their annual vacation bonus. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)$ $FILE - Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido speaks to the press at the headquarters of Voluntad Popular political party in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Aug. 12, 2022. A few days into their long break, teachers have been marching by the thousands around the country, threatening to strike when school resumes or possibly even to abandon their profession after the government paid them only a tiny fraction of their annual vacation bonus. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)$ $FILE - Workers rehab the lunchroom of a public school while students are out for summer vacation in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022. A few days into their long break, teachers have been marching by the thousands around the country, threatening to strike when school resumes or possibly even to abandon their profession after the government paid them only a tiny fraction of their annual vacation bonus. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)$ $FILE - A worker carries scaffolding during repairs at a public school in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022. A few days into their long break, teachers have been marching by the thousands around the country, threatening to strike when school resumes or possibly even to abandon their profession after the government paid them only a tiny fraction of their annual vacation bonus. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)$

FILE - University teacher Erly Ruiz rides his bicycle to deliver a bag of soil to a customer during summer break in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022. Ruiz said he has been working in delivery for two years, where he can earn up to about $120 dollars a month compared to his teacher salary of about $90 dollars and that he also has gigs in wine and sound system businesses. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)

$FILE - Venezuelan students wait for their school bus in Cucuta, Colombia, at sunrise Monday, Aug. 8, 2022, after crossing the border which Venezuela partially closed in 2015. A few days into their long break, teachers have been marching by the thousands around the country, threatening to strike when school resumes or possibly even to abandon their profession after the government paid them only a tiny fraction of their annual vacation bonus. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)$ $FILE - Venezuelan Kimberly Gutierrez helps her son Johan Mejia with his homework as they wait for his school bus in Cucuta, Colombia, at sunrise Monday, Aug. 8, 2022, after crossing the border which Venezuela partially closed in 2015. A few days into their long break, teachers have been marching by the thousands around the country, threatening to strike when school resumes or possibly even to abandon their profession after the government paid them only a tiny fraction of their annual vacation bonus. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)$