In a remarkable development, the Public Basic Education Association and the Vocational Education Association announced a strike today, recommending that general assemblies escalate, while the Public Secondary Education Association decided to call for general assemblies to take appropriate escalatory steps, due to the government’s procrastination in responding to the urgent demands of teachers and professors.
The head of the Secondary Education Teachers Association, Professor Jamal Omar, explained that the association’s administrative body submitted recommendations to the general assemblies that include two basic options for the next stage, as a result of the government’s continued failure to fulfill its obligations towards teachers.
Omar indicated that the first option is to give the government an additional period until the middle of this month, in the hope that it will adhere to its promises and assume its full responsibilities. The second option is to resort to intermittent and escalating strikes over a period of two weeks, that is, a two-day strike every week, to maintain the momentum of movement and pressure, and to ensure that professors adhere to their rights and not give them up.
He pointed out that some voices are calling for an open strike, but he believes that this option is the last, as it is “the last effective medicine,” and the teachers only have this “cartridge.”
He added that in mid-February, if the government does not fulfill its promises, the association will declare to the professors that it does not abide by the authority, and the professors will take the appropriate position at that time.
He explained that general assemblies will be held today and tomorrow in secondary education, as well as in basic education, but what is striking is that basic teachers announced a strike today, and they have two options: either to strike throughout this week, or to give the government a chance, and the same applies to vocational education teachers.
He stressed that this does not mean that there is disagreement between the associations, but on the contrary, there is complete coordination between them, but each association has its own privacy that others respect.
He explained that the Secondary Education Association’s choice to take action aims to not leave the second week of the deadline without action, so the recommendation came for a strike for two days in the first week and two days in the second week, with a statement being issued after the end of the general assemblies, studying the results, and counting which of the two options received the largest percentage of the teachers’ votes, and on this basis the association will announce its final position.
He referred to the existing coordination within the Public Sector Associations Association, pointing out that military retirees have special demands supported by the associations, but there are common demands, most notably the draft resolution they presented to the President of the Republic, General Joseph Aoun, which aims to raise salaries to 50 percent of their value before the economic collapse, then increase them by 10 percent every six months, eventually reaching 100 percent of the value of previous salaries.
Omar confirmed that the Secondary Education Association will participate on Wednesday in the scheduled meeting to study the next steps of joint action to achieve this demand.
