Lebanon’s private teachers’ union has set September 18 as the date for a meeting during which a final decision will be made concerning the steps leading to a general mobilization after the government failed, in their view, to address their demands. This decision, accompanied by recommendations, will be submitted to the general assemblies to be held two days later, on September 20 at 3 PM, for a first session. In the event of a lack of quorum, a second session will be held at 4 PM, regardless of the number of persons present.
In a press release issued on Saturday, the union denounced “the government’s nine months of inertia in the face of the many declarations and appeals launched by private sector teachers demanding to remedy the problem of the Compensation Fund by promulgating a decree for the appointment of a new board of directors for the Fund in question.” The union also insists on the “publication of a decree to increase the contribution paid by schools to the Compensation Fund, in order to improve the teachers’ allowances and retirement pensions, an increase that would be multiplied by 30.”
The issue of “renewing the protocol” established between private educational establishments and the teachers’ union under the aegis of the Ministry of Education was also raised in the communiqué, “so that every pensioner could see his or her monthly payment multiplied by six.”
“Faced with this reality, we have no choice but to convene general assemblies to vote for a general mobilization in order to exert pressure with the aim of preserving teachers’ rights,” the communiqué adds.
