Tunisian high school teachers strike over bonuses, working conditions

Tens of thousands of Teachers demonstrated in the Tunisian capital of Tunis on Wednesday to demand bonuses and improvements in working conditions.

The teachers gathered in front of the education ministry and emphasized calls for the sector minister to resign.

Lassaad Yacoubi is Secretary General of the Federation of Secondary Education affiliated to the UGTT .

“We have been defining the points of contention between us and the Ministry of Education for a long time. The main points of disagreement concern retirement, specific bonuses and conditions at educational institutions”, he said.

Yacoubi also said government must endeavor not to shirk its responsibility.

“If government initiatives are maneuvered, it means that the government is not aware that the school year is threatened. We are ready for serious negotiations and the signing of an agreement, the question of a “white year” is the responsibility of the government, and the government will have to assume its responsibility’‘, Yacoubi added.

Strike by secondary school teachers has interrupted the academic calendar for high school students.

Despite calls by the powerful UGTT to end strike, secondary school teachers have been striking since last October.

The protest was organized during the school holidays, before a resumption of negotiations. It comes as the UGTT called for a general strike of public services on February 20 and 21.

If a solution is not found before then, it would be the third massive strike in a few months against the government and the International Monetary Fund.

In 2016, the north African nation obtained a 2.4 billion euro loan from the IMF over a four year period, promising to conduct major reforms, including a reduction in civil servants.

AFP