Jordan: Strike Continues and Government Allowances Did Not Satisfy Teachers

Ayman Fadilat-Amman

After government meetings with the Jordanian Teachers' Union failed to find a solution to break the three-week-long strike, the Jordanian government decided to increase the salaries of teachers according to the grade system from 24 to 31 dinars (33 to 43 dollars) monthly.

The cabinet decision, which will cost the treasury about 26 million dinars ($ 36 million) a year, came out of a crisis that is about to shake the future of the first semester and lead to postponement, and comes into force early next month.

However, the Prime Minister's financial allowances were not satisfactory to the Teachers' Association, considering them to be "crumbs not worth the daily breakfast of a teacher."

Ranks and bonuses
Details of the decision were given by Jordanian Prime Minister Omar Razzaz in an interview with the Jordanian television on Saturday evening, reviewing the percentage of allowances that teachers will receive and the number of beneficiaries, in addition to the 100% premium that the teacher gets previously.

Under the grade system, the newly-appointed assistant teacher at the Ministry of Education will receive an allowance of 24 dinars per month ($ 33), and will be able to benefit from this allowance, about 36 thousand teachers, and this allowance is granted for the first time.

Those who are in the rank of "teacher", five years after the appointment, will receive a bonus of 25 dinars per month ($ 35) and be paid for the first time, and will be granted to 31 thousand teachers.

Ten years after his appointment, he will receive a 28 dinar ($ 39) bonus for the first time, which will benefit 18,000 teachers.

Finally, the "expert teacher" who have been appointed to the ministry for more than 15 years will receive a monthly allowance of 31 dinars per month ($ 43), which will benefit 335 teachers, and will be granted to them for the first time.

Razzaz said that the value of the allowances is not what the teacher and the government aspire to, but this is what is available now, hoping teachers to look positively for the initiative and return to schools and to break the strike to protect the interests of students.

Continued strike
The teachers' union's rejection of the Jordanian Prime Minister's initiative was not long overdue, as it came about an hour after its announcement, insisting on the continuation of the strike for the fourth week.

Nasser Al-Nawasra, deputy head of the teachers union, announced in a direct recording on the union's Facebook page that he donated the increase, which he described as "crumbs" to the government.

The union stressed that the increase announced by Razzaz is not equal to 10% of the allowance claimed by teachers.

On the other hand, Nazareth welcomed the increase in the grade system, saying that we do not mind that the increase in the grade system is related to performance, but the amount did not indicate that.

"Low value"
Activist Nisreen Hamdan described in a tweet on marking # with_almualem the increase as a "lack of value", and wrote "God, if the union and teachers agree to heck Heckh and Heck insulting and heck and mock value Heck Salam on the heck of an educational institution, and peace on the curriculum of dignity follows the hatred of the teacher For students he is anointed with dignity and standing. "

As for the activist Ashraf Al-Jariri, he singed the marking with the teacher.

Meanwhile, a Facebook page of the Jordanian television published an interview with Jordanian Prime Minister Omar Razzaz on the teachers' strike crisis and the cabinet decisions related to it.