Teachers association asks parents to keep children at home as strike goes on

AMMAN  –– The Jordan Teachers Association (JTA) on Saturday asked parents not to send their children to schools on Sunday, the first day of school, as the syndicate decided to go on with a planned strike.

In a statement made available to The Jordan Times, the association accused the government of stalling and not being serious about dealing with the teachers’ demands.

The decision comes after a week of intensive meetings between government officials, the Lower House Education Committee and JTA representatives aiming to find an end the strike as the academic year starts Sunday.

The teachers began their strike last Sunday to pressure the government to meet their demands, which include amending civil service bylaw articles related to sick leaves, promotions and leaves without pay.

Other demands include investigating alleged irregularities in the Education Ministry pension fund and referring the case to the judiciary, introducing a “better medical insurance system”, increasing teachers’ salaries, awarding them more financial benefits and ensuring that they are given better contracts at private schools.

The government says these demands would amount to around JD230 million a year, and it would not be able to meet in view of the current economic situation.