The academic year enters a dangerous phase with the first actions of this year, following the announcement of teachers' unions in official schools to close today and tomorrow, with the threat of reducing working hours to two days a week, depending on salary. However, this movement comes "timidly," accompanied by vague statements that do not provide union support for teachers, instead asking them to "go to work, but stop teaching there," despite a significant part of the problem being teachers' inability to reach schools as their salaries have become equivalent to the price of three cans of gasoline. Therefore, the mobilization did not seem convincing to many who decided not to comply, resulting in closures not being widespread across all Lebanese regions. Teaching will proceed normally in several areas, or as per attendance from faculty members, whether permanent or contracted, or only for certification classes in some schools in the south, Mount Lebanon, and Metn.
What is happening in the official schools is neither a strike, nor a halt, nor a work stoppage. The secondary teachers' association has been in turmoil, leading to the emergence of a new name in a statement released last Friday, following remote meetings due to the inability to "travel long distances." The message sent by the unions to the schools conveys "no strike," but "we will justify your absence... with the concern that it may affect attendance counts," which could subsequently lead to a lack of incentives being computed in case they are approved for payment. In other words, "come or don’t come."
Today's action is based on the premise that "it is better to come late than not to come at all," as teachers have run out of patience and money, forcing them to choose between going to work or feeding their children. The Minister of Education has backtracked on promises of paying social incentives ($130 monthly) with the start of the academic year, and salaries are delayed based on the budget for 2022 (with two additional salaries to the basic salary). Schools are set to close for two days at the end of the month awaiting the disbursement of December salaries, without a clear escalation plan.
Separation from the Administrative Body
Additionally, branches of the secondary association are beginning to "emerge from under the cloak," signaling to all concerned that they "will not wait for the consensus of the administrative body since the parties have been unable to control their members." Indeed, several of them have decided to call for public meetings for teachers at the regional level to discuss "ways to take independent decisions." In the Baalbek-Hermel branch, teachers go even further, with Ali Khalil Al-Toufeili, the branch president, confirming a "complete separation from the administrative body after rejecting the recount of votes from the teachers in the general assemblies," which resulted in the initiation of the current academic year.
The Minister of Promises
As for the Minister of Education, he recently placed the problem in the teachers' court, turning contracted teachers against permanent ones, blaming the latter for the former's livelihood in case of strikes, and exonerating his ministry and administration from any negligence, implying to the public that "the teacher will receive three monthly salaries." Furthermore, next month brings "six salaries for teachers, and payment of transportation allowances." However, what the minister did not mention is the value of these salaries and how long it has been since transportation allowances were paid. The three salaries range between 7 and 10 million Lebanese pounds, and transportation allowances are still pending from the entire year of 2022. Additionally, the minister did not address his earlier statements at the beginning of this academic year when he promised the educational staff incentives amounting to around 17 million pounds between duplicated salaries and financial incentives ($130 monthly), which have not materialized.
