Palestinian teachers strike over pay dispute
Palestinian teachers in the West Bank have gone on a full strike, demanding a pay increase from the Ramallah government.
A partial Palestinian teachers strike last weekend turned into a full strike on Monday, Dec. 2, with plans to hold a demonstration outside the prime minister’s office on Tuesday. The Palestinian government thought that it could avert the full strike when it won a decision by the Palestinian High Court of Justice calling on the Teachers Union to delay the strike until the government has a chance to remedy some of the complaints.
But the teachers defied the court decision, claiming that they were not officially informed of the ruling and that they only heard about it in the media. A meeting late Sunday night between the head of the teachers union, Ahmad Suheil, and President Mahmoud Abbas failed to break the deadlock.
More than 1 million Palestinian students in the West Bank, including those sitting for the matriculation exams, have been affected by the strike. Schools in East Jerusalem have received a waiver from the strike because of their unique and sensitive situation.
The strike by the powerful teachers union comes only two months after a previous agreement was reached between the union and the Palestinian government. The Sept. 5 compromise was declared by the teachers union head a "unique and historic” deal. The agreement included a 10% increase in teachers' salaries to be implemented in two stages, the first at the start of 2014.
