Collective Action
Contract teachers protest in front of Education Ministry
Primary school teachers held a protest in front of the Education Ministry near Beirut’s Cola area Friday in demand of secure long-term contracts.
Among their demands, voiced by protester Nisreen Shaheen, were the payment of transportation fees included in the National Social Security Fund and a minimum monthly salary, “like in other [public] sectors,” the state-run National News Agency reported.
Dozens of teachers gathered outside the ministry at around 11 a.m., holding signs and chanting slogans to express their dissatisfaction with the state’s failure to deal with their grievances.
The protesters later met with Speaker Nabih Berri’s advisor, Ali Hamdan, at Berri’s Ain al-Tineh residence. Hamdan received a memorandum listing their demands.
NNA reported that the protesters are set to meet with Prime Minister Saad Hariri at a later date.
Teachers in Lebanon’s public and private education sectors have been protesting for years. Some want to be given long-term contracts and the associated benefits, while others have been protesting for higher wages since the adoption of a salary hike for public sector workers that was passed last July.