Public school teachers call for three-day strike starting Tuesday

Unions representing secondary and technical public school teachers called on educators Saturday to strike next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in demand of better salaries.

They also urged teachers to protest on Tuesday at 11 a.m. in Beirut’s Bechara al-Khoury Square and march toward Parliament, which will begin debating the 2026 draft budget over three days starting Tuesday. Additional demonstrations are planned for Wednesday and Thursday, with locations to be announced.

“These actions aim to defend legitimate rights, preserve the dignity of professors and teachers, and reject any procrastination or delay in responding to our demands, so that authorities fulfill their responsibilities and do not push the education sector into an open-ended strike,” the unions said.

Public school teachers had already protested on Wednesday in front of the Education Ministry to demand pay adjustments and warned of possible “educational disobedience.”

Since the financial crisis began in 2019, public-sector teachers’ salaries have undergone some adjustments, but these have been largely cosmetic measures intended to buy time while awaiting a comprehensive overhaul of the public-sector pay scale — which has yet to materialize. Other demands include increasing the monthly allowance for retired teachers and raising hourly wages for contract teachers.