Teachers demonstrates in front of the Education Ministry in Beirut on March 6, 2023. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Dozens of teachers from the public sector in Lebanon protested on Monday in front of the Education Ministry to protest against the lifting of the strike — which had been going on since January — announced on Sunday by some unions "without asking the opinion" of the teachers.
On Sunday, several unions of public school teachers, both tenured and contract, said they would return to classrooms starting Monday, although many teachers had indicated their intention to ignore this decision, arguing that the authorities had not reacted sufficiently to meet their demands.
"The decision is up to us," read one sign held up by a protester, while other signs carried the strikers' demands, including the establishment of a teachers' cooperative and the use of an improved exchange rate for salaries.
Teachers stage sit-in in front of the Education Ministry in Beirut on March 6, 2023. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)
"We are gathered to demand the respect of our rights. The League of Secondary Education decided to resume classes without asking our opinion," one teacher, Sadek Hojeiry, explained to L’Orient Today’s reporter Mohammad Yassin.
"We are not small children, we do not accept to be put under tutelage. It would have been necessary to convene a general assembly to take the decision to lift the strike," he added, lamenting that teachers "have held [together] for three years the education sector, at their own expense.”
His colleague, Abdallah Najm, accused his union of having "violated its internal regulations" by deciding to lift the strike without consulting members. "Teachers are currently living below the poverty line," he said.
North and Akkar
A similar protest was organized by contractual teachers in front of the branch of the Education Ministry in Tripoli, in northern Lebanon.
As anger appears to mount, it is not yet known to what extent teachers committed to the unions' decision across the country's various regions.
But in Akkar in the north attendance was very low, according to L'Orient Today's correspondent in the region.
Walid Nemer, a member of the Contracting Committee in Vocational and Technical Education, said that "90 percent of institutes and schools are still closed because the teachers don't want to conform with the rules of their syndicates, as teachers are tired of hearing empty promises."
"The teachers were promised $300 to compensate for the dues of the last three months, and nothing yet has been paid," he said.
Reporting contributed by Michel Hallak
