Jordan gov't seeks to break teachers’ strike

AMMAN

The Jordanian government has taken a raft of decisions in an attempt to encourage teachers to end their open-ended strike that has entered its fourth week.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Ministry of Education said it would take procedures to deduct salaries from teachers who are not doing their job regularly by the end of Tuesday and threatened to take administrative measures against teachers who abstain from teaching.

On Tuesday morning, the ministry issued several statements in which it said that the strike has ended in several schools and that the academic process has resumed.

The Jordan Teachers Association (JTA), meanwhile, denied the claims, saying in a statement that the government attempts were meant to "undermine the will of the teachers."

In September, Jordan's teachers began a general strike, demanding a 50% salary hike under an agreement reached with the government in 2014 but has not been yet applied.

Established in 2011, the JTA, organizer of the protest, has 140,000 registered members.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat

AMMAN

The Jordanian government has taken a raft of decisions in an attempt to encourage teachers to end their open-ended strike that has entered its fourth week.

On Tuesday morning, the ministry issued several statements in which it said that the strike has ended in several schools and that the academic process has resumed.

The Jordan Teachers Association (JTA), meanwhile, denied the claims, saying in a statement that the government attempts were meant to "undermine the will of the teachers."

In September, Jordan's teachers began a general strike, demanding a 50% salary hike under an agreement reached with the government in 2014 but has not been yet applied.

Established in 2011, the JTA, organizer of the protest, has 140,000 registered members.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat