Tunisia: teachers go on open-ended strike

Thousands of teachers and substitute teachers in Tunisia have gone on an open-ended strike since Monday morning to demand the settlement of their affairs, including recruitment, retention and salary issues.

Yesterday was the first day of school after the winter holiday. The strikers insist that they will stay away from work until an order regulating their positions, including contracts, salaries and social security, is issued.

“We have started a teaching strike today due to the failure to settle our affairs and the ministry’s procrastination, being content with saying that a settlement will be reached soon, but no serious measures were taken in this regard,” explained Malek Al-Ayari, the national coordinator of substitute teachers. “We demanded the implementation of the regulatory provisions in order to avoid a strike. It is unreasonable for a teacher not to receive their financial dues for an entire semester.”

Schools in Tunisia opened for the academic year on 15 September. The first term ended on 21 December.

“We demanded social and health coverage and the settling of the affairs of fellow substitute teachers who are over fifty years old, but no one responded, so we decided to go on strike, which is open and necessary until the Ministry of Education responds to the issue,” Al-Ayari told Arabi21.

Around 14,000 teachers and 8,000 substitute teachers are involved in the strike action. According to Al-Ayari, some of the issues in question date back to 2008.

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