Ensour urges teachers not to proceed with strike

AMMAN – Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Saturday again urged the Jordan Teachers Association (JTA) not to go ahead with their open-ended strike planned for Sunday, describing the move as illegal. 

“It is unacceptable to take students hostage to their demands,” Ensour said at a press conference, adding the JTA Law does not allow strikes. 

He called on the association not to give the impression that it is playing politics, pointing to the fact that the JTA council is dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood movement.

Ensour said the financial situation of the Kingdom does not allow for raising the salaries of teachers, whose number is estimated at around 120,000.

“This government has increased taxes and prices of many goods and services. Jordanian society will not accept directing the revenues of such measures to improve the salaries of a certain segment,” he added.

The JTA issued a statement following Ensour’s remarks, rejecting his accusations of adopting political demands. 

The statement, a copy of which was sent to The Jordan Times, said the teachers’ demands include amending the civil service by-law in terms of sick leave, promotions and unpaid leave. 

Other demands include investigating the pension fund’s assets and referring the case to the judiciary, implementing a better medical insurance system, higher salaries and better contracts at private schools. 

“Are these demands political?” asked the JTA.

Also on Saturday, the Lower House called on the JTA to leave room for dialogue with the government before taking extreme options such as the open-ended strike they plan to start on Sunday, the first workday for teaching and administrative staff at public schools.

Students return to school on August 24.

The demand came in a statement the House issued on Saturday, reiterating the legitimacy of teachers’ rights.

“We support the demands of the association, but the Lower House wants the teachers to engage in a dialogue with the government before any other steps,” Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh said in the statement.

The statement said the best means to achieve these “fair demands” is to reach an agreement with the government over a timetable for implementation.

The Lower House is exerting “its utmost efforts”, through an initiative led by its Education Committee, to reach common ground between the government and the association, the statement said.

The House added that its members would like to reach a “satisfactory solution” to the issue.