A statement was issued by the Union of Teachers in Private Schools following a meeting of the Executive Council, chaired by the union leader, Naama Mahfoud, with the presence of branch councils:
1. Despite the positive response we had to the constitutionally clear challenge of the compensation law sent to the Parliament, and despite our cooperation with Minister of Education in the caretaker government, Judge Abbas Halabi, as well as our participation in the meeting held in his office on Tuesday, which resulted in an agreement with the Union of Private Educational Institutions, attended by parents' committees and the manager of the compensation fund, Mr. George Saqr, to pay one million Lebanese pounds per year (approximately 10 dollars) for each student in private schools, we were surprised today, shortly before the scheduled meeting, to be informed that the Union of Educational Institutions apologized for attending without any justification at least to respect their position and commitments before the minister, the educational family, and public opinion.
2. In light of the above, the Executive Council of the Union of Teachers in Private Schools announces a strike starting from Tuesday, January 23, 2024, in all private schools in Lebanon unless the institutions retract their decision before this date, allowing space for the initiatives undertaken by Minister of Education, Judge Abbas Halabi, which we thank him for. This strike is in protest against the path these institutions are taking by continuing to deprive over 4,000 retired teachers of a livelihood and leaving them to their fate with pensions of two to three million Lebanese pounds per month after 40 years of dedication to education. What has happened confirms that educational institutions do not want any solution to the issue of retired teachers and do not care at all about their livelihoods, despite all claims to the contrary. We, for our part, have given this issue ample time to be resolved, exceeding four years, yet no one has moved to address it. On the contrary, we see today a lack of effort in providing retired teachers with the minimum components for resilience, both through the constitutional violations in rejecting the laws and through shirking the agreement that took place in the Ministry of Education.
3. The Executive Council of the Union of Teachers will keep its meetings open to follow up on developments and take appropriate positions on them. We urge our colleagues, the teachers, to follow what is issued by the union, and to unite and show solidarity in defense of their rights and the rights of retirees to live with dignity.
