The People’s Patience Has Run Out: The Government Has One Last Chance on Thursday or Escalation is Coming!

In an escalating move, the Public Sector Unions Association, which includes employees of public administrations, retired military personnel, and civilians, has announced a comprehensive strike and work stoppage on Thursday, October 23, 2025, in all public administrations, schools, secondary schools, and official institutes. This step comes after an expanded union meeting discussed the difficult economic and living conditions experienced by state employees, amid a significant decline in the value of salaries and wages, which today amount to only about 20% of their actual value in 2019.

The statement issued by the association indicated that the strike also comes in protest of what it described as “smuggling the increase in the retirement deduction rate from 6 to 8% through a law related to private schools,” as well as the government’s continued disregard for the demands of workers and retirees, despite the passage of more than ten months since the election of the President of the Republic and eight months since the formation of the government.

According to association sources, the strike will be a warning, serving as a yellow card to the government, which may be followed by a red card if the neglect continues.

In this context, Ibrahim Nahhal, a member of the Public Administration Employees Association, said that the strike will be for one day, but it carries a strong and direct message to the government, especially since participation will be broad among various sectors.

He added: “We seek to live with dignity, and the government must realize that ignoring our rights will push us back to the streets. This movement is not the end of the road but the beginning, and it will be followed by a gradual escalation if legitimate demands are not met and the minimum of reforms that guarantee justice for public sector employees are not approved.”

Nahhal pointed out that the threat of an open strike is not new, noting that salaries no longer exceed 25% of their value before the crisis, reflecting the extent of the pressure and deprivation experienced by public sector employees.

The strike is not limited to administrators and retired military personnel but will also include the official education sector, despite the announcement by contract teachers that they have no connection to the strike and that any action concerning them is taken on their own initiative, knowing that they constitute about 80% of the teaching staff in official schools. However, a tenured teacher in secondary education stated that adherence to the strike will be almost complete in schools, noting that this reflects the extent of anger and resentment among teachers who face the same difficult financial circumstances.

He stressed that Thursday’s strike will not be transient but represents the “last bullet” to deliver a clear message: either the government moves quickly to adopt practical solutions that preserve the dignity of public sector employees, or the country will enter a new phase of comprehensive administrative and educational paralysis, as the time for patience is over… and silence is no longer an option.