The movement expressed its surprise at the fact that a number of principals informed contractors of the need not to attend after the statement issued by the education leagues, which called on contract teachers to attend and sign in, considering that they should “go to the heads of the leagues to pay them for the wasted classes,” while these principals insist on the attendance of tenured teachers in the morning to sign in – despite the strike – in order to obtain transportation and diligence allowances and salary.
The movement indicated that “the government imposed a forced shutdown for two days to receive the Pope and the contractor paid the price, the leagues imposed a folkloric strike last Thursday and the contractor paid the price, and here they are imposing a new folkloric shutdown today, Thursday, and the contractor will pay the price, and they will impose folkloric strikes next Tuesday and Thursday and the contractor will pay the price alone.”
The movement addressed the leagues, saying: “The principals of secondary schools and schools do not recognize you or your statements, but your statements have become a laughing stock when the principals say to the contractors: Go to the leagues to pay you for your hours, as the ministry will not pay anything.”
The statement added: “After these actions by these principals, we tell you that we, the honorable contractors, are the ones who owe you and your salaries. If it were not for our continued sacrifices in every strike, you would not have received a single lira, neither from diligence nor from salaries. We are the ones who sacrifice, while you principals go to the schools during every mock strike to sign a fictitious attendance without students, so you receive diligence without work and salaries without work.”
The movement continued: “The law must apply to everyone. The law gave you a wage for work, not for formal attendance to sign only. What are you signing for? Does the employment contract require you to just sign? Isn’t the purpose of signing to prove attendance to perform work? Has the employment contract and salary become based on signing alone?”
It added: “We did not want to enter into these arguments, but your selfish behavior that underestimated your contract colleagues, and even the heads of your leagues and councils, is what prompted us to respond. If you respected your leagues and their administrative bodies and representatives who elected them, you would not have dared to make fun of a right that you granted yourselves and denied to the contractors.”
The movement concluded its speech by addressing the heads of the leagues, saying: “If you do not have authority over these principals, then stop announcing strikes and drafting statements, because they will remain meaningless except for their folkloric meaning. This is our beginning, and our wasted hours and stolen livelihoods we entrust to the care of the Lord of the Worlds, the Just Judge, who will hold every oppressor accountable, whether he is a minister or a principal, with an inevitable punishment.”
