Palestine teachers begin strike over delayed salaries

Palestinian students sit with their teacher inside a classroom at the Ras al-Tenneen school in eastern Ramallah city which an Israeli court ruled that it was built without the necessary construction permit and rejected an appeal against its imminent demolition, on 8 October 2020. [ABBAS MOMANI/AFP via Getty Images]

Palestinian teachers in the West Bank on Thursday began a strike demanding that the government pay their delayed salaries in full.

The General Union of Palestinian Teachers called on public school teachers across the West Bank to strike after the Palestinian government announced that it would pay the public sector employees the full salary of November but only half of their delayed salaries.

The government announcement came after Israel released $1.1 billion of the tax revenues that Tel Aviv collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, two weeks after resuming security coordination between the two sides.

Meanwhile, the teachers’ union announced in a statement that the Palestinian government had violated its agreement with the union to pay all the delayed salaries as soon as Israel releases the tax revenues.

The statement explained that the teachers had been instructed not to go to schools and directorates of education across the West Bank.

READ: UNRWA defers workers’ salaries over lack of funds

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