The file of raising the hourly wages of contract teachers entered a new turn, following the announcement of the “Contract Teachers Movement” to abandon the option of striking alone, and move towards legal accountability and prosecution of the concerned authorities, holding the Ministries of Finance and Education responsible for the continued obstruction of the file.
In a statement issued by him, the movement’s coordinator, Hamza Mansour, condemned what he described as a “dangerous violation” of contractors’ rights by Finance Minister Yassine Jaber, stressing that the right to amend hourly wages has become firmly enshrined in law and executive decrees issued by the legislative and executive authorities.
Mansour explained that the Minister of Finance’s efforts in interpreting legal texts led to obstructing their implementation and depriving contractors of their due increases, wondering about the authority that allows any minister to obstruct rights approved by constitutional institutions and applicable laws.
At the governmental level, the movement held the Ministry of Education partly responsible for the absence of its firm stance, indicating that the Minister of Education had not taken the initiative since the issuance of the law and decree to hold a direct meeting with the Minister of Finance to resolve the file, and was content with sending one of her advisors, which was met with the refusal of the Minister of Finance, in a step that revealed – according to the statement – the absence of coordination and serious follow-up, especially after it became clear that the Minister of Education was not familiar with the details of what happened during the last meeting.
Mansour pointed out that the two ministries had abandoned the previously usual mechanism, which required the formation of a joint committee immediately after the issuance of legislation to prepare executive decisions in preparation for presenting them to the Council of Ministers, which kept the rights of contractors subject to suspension, calling on the Ministry of Education to assume its responsibilities and defend the rights of its educational staff.
Regarding the upcoming escalatory steps, the movement ruled out resorting to a strike as a unilateral option, considering that stopping work may be in the interest of the treasury by saving money at the expense of teachers’ rights. Instead, Mansour stressed the trend towards using all available legal means to hold those concerned accountable for disrupting the file.
The movement concluded its statement by calling on contract teachers to intensify media pressure and publish the facts related to their case, calling on the media to shed light on the living suffering of thousands of contract teachers to demand their legitimate rights, in light of the continued suspension of the executive decision necessary to implement the legally approved increase.
