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Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati continues to refuse to issue a decree to appoint a new board of directors for the Compensation Fund, despite repeated calls from the teachers’ union.
The union believes this decree would enable the Fund to start over, allowing for a financial rescue plan to protect teachers’ compensations and gradually restore the pensions of retired teachers.
At the same time, the government is also withholding a decree to increase school owners’ contributions to the Fund. Indeed, school owners are still paying according to the old salary scale, which has now become meaningless, as the protocol between the teachers’ union and the Union of Educational Institutions has not been updated to increase the pensions of retired teachers.
In light of this, the teachers’ union has called for general assemblies at the end of the coming week, specifically on Friday, September 20, 2024, to vote on granting the union authorization to move forward in guaranteeing teachers’ compensations and pensions.
In fact, the union’s executive council will hold a meeting next Wednesday to discuss possible actions and make a final decision on the recommendation that will be presented to the general assemblies on Friday, September 20, 2024, at 3:00 PM in the first session and at 4:00 PM in the second session if quorum is not met.
According to union president Nehme Mahfoud, the union has reached a deadlock, despite the appeals and statements addressed to Prime Minister Najib Mikati urging him to save the Compensation Fund for teachers in private schools.
Mahfoud insists on the need for a decree to appoint a new board of directors and another to increase contributions to the Fund by 30 times.
The union also calls for the renewal of the protocol that enables the Fund to continue paying retired teachers’ pensions at six times their current value.
This protest movement comes nine months after Mikati’s refusal to publish a law regarding the financing of the Compensation Fund for private school teachers and amending certain laws governing teacher compensation and school budget management. His refusal to publish the law, which also affects private sector retired teachers and funds the Compensation Fund, forced these teachers to sign a temporary protocol with private schools under the sponsorship of Education Minister Abbas Halabi to ensure continuation of pension payments.
However, this protocol expires on September 30. Thus, teachers are facing two major issues: the need to renew the protocol for another year without a legislative framework, or the need for Mikati to publish the law and issue the decree to raise school contributions to the Fund, thereby ensuring the sustainability of teachers’ pensions.
As for the upcoming meeting on Friday, the teachers’ union has called on general assemblies to vote for action, including protests and other forms of pressure.
Sources say that discussions are underway between the Ministry of Education, the teachers’ union, and the Union of Educational Institutions to renew the protocol, under which schools contribute LBP 900,000 annually per student to fund increases in retired teachers’ pensions.
Importantly, Director General of Education Imad al-Achkar plans to take strict measures against school principals who fail to pay these contributions.
However, the key issue remains Mikati’s ongoing refusal to issue the decree appointing a new board of directors for the Compensation Fund, despite repeated calls from the teachers’ union to save the fund from financial collapse.
The teachers’ union is preparing to escalate its actions and, this time, will not limit itself to a strike. They are planning protests and other forms of demonstrations until their demands are met, even considering an open-ended strike just days after students have returned to school and the beginning of the new academic year.
