Tunisia – Hundreds of teachers demand improving their employment status

Location: Tunis – Tunisia

Language: Arabic

Duration: 00:03:18

Sound: natural

Source: A24 in Tunisia

Restrictions: A24 subscribers

Date: 11/01/2022

Storyline:

Hundreds of teachers organized a protest outside of the Government building in Kasbah Square in capital Tunis, to demand improving their employment status.

The protesters are teachers who the ministry contracts with each semester, most of them have been working with the ministry for more than 4 years.

The protesters strongly denounced what they considered supervisory authority’s denial of their right to appointment, rejecting the statements of the Minister of Education, which they described as unacceptable threat.

Tunisian Minister of Education had asked the teachers earlier to return to work or they will be dismissed and compensated.

The school year, which began on September 15, has been facing difficulties, as hundreds of thousands of students did not enroll this year, according to union sources.

Shotlist:

– Soundbite (Enas Al-Awni – Part-time teacher):

“I have been working for 5 years without providing me with social insurance or improving my employment status, as the minister continues to ignore our case.”

– Soundbite (Faisal Al-Ratibi – Part-time teacher):

“I have been under contract with the ministry of education since 2006, but my right to official appointment is still denied until now. Part-time teachers since 2017 have also not been officially appointed. There are teachers with rank A3 who work 25 hours a week, but the ministry refuses to sign on their official appointment.”

– Soundbite (Mohammed Al-Obeidi – Official at the General Union of Basic Education):

“This protest is for all part-time workers in the Ministry of Education, to demand our legitimate rights and implement old agreements that stipulate the appointment of these teachers. The Ministry and government have begun to backing out of agreements, wanting to draw new temporary contracts without official appointment.”

– Soundbite (Sonia Al-Obeidi – Part-time teacher):

“We demand appointment after 6 years of part-time work. It is time they improve our employment status. The total number of teachers demanding their rights, according to the General Union of Education, is only 5600”