Mario Nogueira said that Fenprof aimed to wait for developments during the next month and to hold a "great national protest" in mid-February.

The presidential veto of the government's diploma which partially counted the frozen length of service of teachers is seen by Nogueira as "good news" but it still does not mean a victory, he said.

Nogueira had said on Wednesday that the decision taken by the president was "adequate" and that teachers would be gathering outside the ministry of education on 3 January in an effort to negotiate with the government.

Teachers' associations last week threatened to disrupt the school year if the government refused to negotiate by the end of January frozen lengths of service.