January 26, 2026
In a statement, the coordinator of the contract teachers’ movement, Hamza Mansour, sent an appeal to the Civil Service Council, the Minister of Education and Higher Education, the Council of Ministers, the oversight bodies, and the House of Representatives, warning them of “the danger of any approach to the salary file, especially what relates to the perseverance allowance, without explicit legal guarantees, and before referring any formula or proposal to the Council of Ministers.”
“Mansour” pointed out that “the Civil Service Council’s proposal to transfer increases from the temporary allowance system to the core salary, by merging the perseverance allowance and including it in the basic wage, may be presented under the title of administrative reform, but the contract teachers’ movement categorically rejects this proposal turning into a means of confiscating or circumventing rights.”
He added: “We are not against raising the basic wage, but we reject any merger or cancellation of the perseverance allowance unless it is accompanied by a written, clear and binding text that guarantees the full confirmation of the perseverance value without any diminution, its actual inclusion in the core of the wage, not a formality, and no loss of any part of the current income, and its calculation in the full financial rights resulting from it.”
He went on to explain: “Passing an ambiguous or incomplete formula to the Council of Ministers, in which perseverance is canceled as a separate allowance without explicitly establishing its value in the wage, is considered a direct confiscation of an acquired right, and will only be met with rejection and escalation. The perseverance allowance was never a favor or a circumstantial gain, but rather came as a result of a harsh economic collapse and stressful living conditions, and any attempt to turn it into an item that can be deleted or reduced is rejected.”
“Mansour” affirmed: “Based on the above, and in order to protect our rights and prevent their confiscation, the contract teachers’ movement calls for a general strike in secondary schools and public schools tomorrow, Tuesday, and widespread participation in the demonstration that will start from Bechara El-Khoury all the way to the House of Representatives, confirming that these rights are legitimate, and that defending them is a duty, and we will not accept abandoning them under any pretext.”
He called for “not referring any proposal to the Council of Ministers before it is corrected and guaranteed legally, and that the full value of perseverance be established in the text of the wage, not the intention, and that the current hourly wage for contract teachers, i.e. $14 in secondary education and $8 in basic education, be considered a starting point for any future increase added to the hourly wage without any prejudice to these constants or derogation from them.” He also called for “increasing the hourly wages of hired contract teachers, procedural teachers, and contractors working through school funds, in a way that ensures justice among all contractors and ensures a minimum level of living stability, and the involvement of teachers’ representatives in any final formula, and stopping the logic of superior decisions that are taken at the expense of teachers’ livelihoods.”
Mansour concluded his speech by saying: “Our rights are not an accounting item, nor a technical paper, nor a field for experiments. Any harm to perseverance without confirming it is a direct assault on our right to a decent life. We are watching, warning, and we will not back down. Rights are not confiscated, but taken away.”
