A statement was issued by the Syndicate of Teachers in Private Schools, headed by Ni'mat Mahfoud, in response to the strike called by the General Secretariat of Catholic Schools:
1. For over a year, we have been urging the General Secretariat of Catholic Schools and the Union of Educational Institutions to resolve the issue of retired teachers, who are on the brink of dying while receiving salaries that have been between one million and three million Lebanese pounds for four years, which is equivalent to about 10 and 30 dollars per month.
2. For a month now, we have been insisting on convening a meeting with the secretariat and the union to discuss the status of the compensation fund and the teachers' retirement fund without any response. It is worth noting that the fund is in a difficult financial situation and risks ceasing to pay the salaries of retired teachers and the compensations as well.
3. The General Secretariat of Catholic Schools participated in a meeting of the Parliamentary Education Committee when the bill regarding the members of the educational staff in private schools and the school budget was approved and referred to the joint committees for approval and then sent to the General Assembly.
4. Is the objection to the certificate of clearance, which requires schools to pay their dues to the compensation fund? Does the secretariat accept that hundreds of schools deduct from teachers' salaries and do not pay those amounts to the fund? Here, we remind that many schools have not paid the six increments since 2017 until now. We also remind that the matter of the certificate of clearance was discussed and approved by the fund’s board of directors when Mr. Fadi Yaraq was the General Director of Education.
5. How can we feed the revenues of the compensation fund and the retirement fund and raise the salaries of retired teachers if we do not raise the dues on schools and teachers from 6% to 8%?
6. Private schools receive most of their tuition fees in dollars, so why do they not pay the fund in dollars to secure its logistical expenses and increase its revenues to continue fulfilling its obligations and improving the salaries of retired teachers? The reasons and obligations that allowed schools to collect part of the tuition in dollars and pay most teachers' salaries in dollars are the same reasons that necessitate today that dues be paid to the fund in dollars to ensure justice for retirees who have not received salaries since the collapse of the exchange rate, unless you consider two million and three million Lebanese pounds per month as a salary.
7. You always objected to the strike when called by the Teachers' Syndicate in protest of the decline in teachers' salaries, so why resort to a strike now? Where is your concern for the academic year and the interests of students?
8. Regarding contractors, we remind that the law imposed on them in the 1990s a contribution of 6% to the compensation fund to be reimbursed, and this clause has been reinstated, with contractors now required to pay 8% and reimbursed at the end of service.
9. We emphasize that the director of the compensation fund participated in the meetings of the parliamentary education committee to study legal proposals and in the joint committee meetings, and he is the most aware of the fund's situation and the urgent need to improve its revenues, discussing various amendments within the board of directors.
10. A question for those concerned: What has the General Secretariat done for its retired teachers whose compensations and pensions have significantly lost value and who are still governed by law 46 of 2017, meaning their salaries are no longer worth anything? What will you say to those who will retire in a few months? That you are trying to prevent the state and the Teachers' Syndicate from improving their living conditions and ensuring the sustainability of their compensation and retirement funds? Be honest with your teachers. Reconsider your position.
11. Initiate dialogue. Do not allow history to record that you abandoned your retired teachers in these very difficult financial circumstances and stood against improving their living conditions, so that trust in the teaching profession and its message remains intact.
