Decision to ensure private school teachers’ job security hailed as ‘milestone’

AMMAN — After enduring years of “flagrant” violations, private school educators will now enjoy better job security thanks to a new decision that obliges schools to pay teachers’ salaries and social security subscriptions throughout the whole year. 

Deputy Prime Minister for Services and Education Minister Mohammad Thneibat on Sunday decided to obligate private schools to pay teachers for the entire period of the unified contract, which protects educators’ rights. 

Failing to do so would jeopardise schools’ ability to renew their licences, a step that would put an end to injustices faced by thousands of teachers, who are forced to resign during the summer vacation and are later rehired.   

“Around 11,500 teachers, of whom more than 10,000 are females, were forced to sign their resignation papers last summer in order for schools to escape paying them salaries and social security subscriptions,” Social Security Corporation (SSC) Spokesperson Musa Sbeihi told The Jordan Times on Monday. 

Describing the phenomenon as dangerous, he noted that private schools resort to such a procedure to pay salaries for nine months instead of 12. 

“And the process results in teachers losing their social security rights for not having continuous years of service,” Sbeihi highlighted, citing cases of female teachers who died and their heirs lost the right to inherit their salaries.

The SSC spokesperson also referred to other violations that private school teachers face, such as receiving lower wages than they signed up for and being paid less than the minimum wage. 

With more than 40,000 private school teachers in Jordan, educators who land a job remain in their work because they fear that others would agree to these conditions, according to Sbeihi. 

In an SSC statement, the corporation commended the Education Ministry’s decision, saying that it would safeguard the rights of one of the largest segments of workers who suffer injustices. 

‘’The decision was taken one day after SSC Director General Nadia Rawabdeh met with [Thneibat] and discussed the issue with him,” Sbeihi said.

In an SSC statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, Rawabdeh said the corporation will start including teachers under the social security umbrella for 12 months, covering the entire year of the contract and will not accept any suspension of their subscriptions during the summer holiday or the spring break.

The SSC will issue certificates for private schools that commit to maintaining teachers’ subscriptions for a whole year. Under the Education Ministry’s decision, the certificates are required for the annual renewal of private schools’ licences.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) praised the move, describing it as a “long-awaited milestone”.

“It is about time that the government sided with private school teachers and ensured them job security. This is a great triumph and we hope that the government will walk the talk,” Reem Aslan, an ILO consultant, told The Jordan Times on Monday. 

The ILO has supported initiatives that back the rights of private school teachers, including the “Stand with Teachers” campaign, which is headed by the Labour Ministry and the Jordanian National Commission for Women to tackle problems facing educators. 

“Teachers who risked their jobs to be part of the campaign are the real champions behind the new decision,” noted Aslan, who cited plans by the ILO to honour schools that abide by the law and regulations. 

She underlined the need to work on the wage gap in the sector. 

According to the National Committee on Pay Equity, the gender pay gap in private sector education in Jordan is 41.6 per cent. The average monthly salary for a male teacher is JD435, while the average monthly pay for a female counterpart is JD254. 

Aslan noted that a seminar held by the ILO in October last year, which was attended by HRH Princess Basma, helped the push towards enacting regulations in favour of private school teachers. 

“The need for unified contracts and linking between the education and labour ministries when it comes to addressing the issues of teachers were some of the recommendations that came out from the seminar,” she said. 

Meanwhile, the Private School Owners Association commended the new decision. 

“The syndicate supports all efforts to streamline the sector. Teachers should not work in demeaning conditions whatsoever,” the association’s president, Munther Sourani, told The Jordan Times, acknowledging that many private schools violate teachers’ rights.

On Sunday, the Jordan Teachers Association also commended the decision, describing it as the fruit of cooperation between the syndicate and the Education Ministry.

Petra quoted Basel Freihat, the association’s president, as saying that the ministry’s positive response highlights its concern for teachers and the need to ensure their job security.