Jordan .. Why aggravate teachers' anger?

Ayman Fadilat-Amman

After a service of more than 26 years, a teacher at the Jordanian Ministry of Education, at the doors of retirement, teacher Mahmoud Dabbas receives a monthly salary of 812 dinars (1130 dollars) net in his hand after the deductions.

He comes out of the classroom with four chronic diseases, the most difficult of which is the "disc" that hit him in the neck and back, as a result of long standing and examination of papers and books. He says to Al Jazeera Net "I do not regret spending my age in the rooms and school yards, this is the work of the prophets."

"My teacher is oppressed in my country because his salary is low, my brother works in a government institution and his experience is ten years and he holds a Bachelor of Commerce only, but his salary exceeds 1,400 dinars (2000 dollars)."

The case of the Dabbas teacher applies to the teachers of the Ministry of Education; the basic salary of the newly appointed teacher is a seventh grade of 150 dinars ($ 211), plus a technical increase, a living allowance and a family allowance for the married person, bringing the total salary to 470 dinars ($ 660).

The salary is then subject to several deductions, including social security, education guarantee, finance and health insurance; by 16.5%, the teacher will eventually receive a salary of 390 dinars ($ 550).

Rewards and Incentives
In contrast, there is a disparity in wages between government employees in various institutions, some ministries and institutions where the salary of the newly appointed employee to eight hundred dinars ($ 1110), as a result of bonuses and incentives.

The state of distortions in public sector salaries is due to "the distorted application of the civil service system, which is a major cause of the teachers' crisis," said former Secretary General of the Ministry of Public Sector Development Abdullah al-Qudah.

The introduction of the 2012 salary structure and the inclusion of public sector organizations in the civil service system by housing them on the categories and job grades mentioned in the system led to the protest of high-rewarded ministries and institutions employees.

Judges continue to Al Jazeera Net that the government responded in a timely manner to some institutions that went on strike to achieve gains for their employees, as it was allowed to pay monthly bonuses to the employee does not exceed five hundred dinars per month (seven hundred dollars).

On the other hand, the employees of ministries were deprived of rewards on the pretext of high numbers of employees, including education staff, especially teachers.

Social explosion
"The teachers 'strike is a serious indicator of social pressure," says economist Ahmed Awad, as a result of low teachers' salaries compared to their counterparts in other formal institutions, and their fall below the poverty line in Jordan.

He adds to the island Net that when you find a third-class teacher spent 15 years in the Ministry of Education and his salary after deductions does not exceed five hundred dinars (seven hundred dollars).

On the other hand, an employee in the same grade in another ministry or institution reaches 2,000 dinars ($ 2,800), pointing out that the minimum wages are paid by employees of the ministries of education, health and municipalities.

Awad concluded that `` the government will not respond to the demands of teachers, '' citing the reason for keeping the allowance claims for the rest of the public sector employees closed, and in response to the recommendations of the International Monetary Fund to reduce the public sector wage bill by stopping the allowances and allowances and linking them to employee performance.

Visit the IMF
The two-week teachers' strike coincided with a regular visit to the IMF delegation to review the measures related to the financial and economic reform program being implemented in cooperation with the IMF, according to an official at the Ministry of Finance.

The source told Al Jazeera Net that the delegation will be briefed on the implementation of the agreed plans, financial revenues during the past eight months, and discuss the third review of the financial reform program within the annual meetings of the Fund expected to be held in Washington next month.

New understandings
The visit of the IMF delegation "paves the way for new understandings for the next phase, after the end of the credit facility extended in June," according to economic analyst Salama Daraawi.

He adds to Al Jazeera Net that after the end of the program, the government has two options to continue its cooperation with the Fund: either to extend the current program, or to agree on a new program to stimulate economic growth, and restore the productive spirit of the various economic sectors, after facing difficulties in recent years.

Successive Jordanian governments have resorted to the IMF to address financial crises and imbalances, according to experts. During the last 30 years, two programs of credit readiness were implemented (1989-2004) and (2012-2015), in addition to the current credit facility program (2016-2019), aimed at restoring the overall stability of the Jordanian economy and facing structural challenges, especially in the financial situation. the public.