Continuing Money Problems

The new finance minister gave a press conference yesterday, along with the education minister and the head of the pay advisory board. The finance minister announced that in order to keep already bad inflation problems from worsening the government would have to cut its expenses by at least 20 percent over the next five months. He says that the government really needs to cut more than that to actually spend within its means. Because of this, the teachers, who have been threatening to strike for more pay, would not be getting a raise. The education minister at this point called on teachers not to strike, but then said that it is likely that they will. The teachers union is going to meet today to determine if they will walk out.
The press conference was held around noon and stopped for ten minutes during prayer time. The education minister stopped talking in the middle of a sentence to pray.
One of the reporters is looking into the facts of teacher pay. She learned that the union leaders make much more money than average workers in the Maldives for working relatively few hours. The teachers union did not consent to an interview with TVM.