Teachers take to the street to voice demands

AMMAN — Thousands of teachers reportedly rallied outside the Prime Ministry on Thursday in protest against the Education Ministry’s policies, the Jordan Teachers Association (JTA) said.

The educators’ sit-in is the “peak” in escalatory measures the JTA is taking to demand changes to the new civil service by-law, the association’s spokesperson, Ayman Okour, told The Jordan Times in a phone interview. 

The syndicate also wants better security measures to protect teachers, improvements to their health insurance and additional financial benefits for “job difficulty”, he said.

In addition, the protesting teachers want the government to refer the Education Ministry’s Social Security Fund to the prosecutor general, according to a JTA statement. 

Education Minister Mohammad Thneibat had referred the fund’s records to the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Audit Bureau earlier this month for in-depth investigation.

“We took to the street today after exhausting all other options,” Okour said, noting that the current work situation of teachers “kills their innovation and drains their energy”. 

The new civil service by-law regulations were the “straw that broke the camel’s back”, as they “violate the rights of middle- and low-income employees — especially teachers — by entailing the delay of annual incentives and promotions, the spokesperson added. 

Under the bylaw, employees need around 37 years of service to be classified under the “first category”, which enables them to enjoy certain benefits.

Earlier this week, the education minister announced that Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour has issued directives to amend the bylaw before the end of August. 

He added that the JTA recommendations will be taken into consideration in the new amendments.

However, Okour charged that Thneibat sidelined other demands by the teachers, adding that the new suggested changes to the by-law do not meet their aspirations.

The JTA, one of the largest syndicates in Jordan with its 140,000 members, has organised several demonstrations during the past few months in protest against the by-law.