The teachers' strike in Libya, due to unpaid salaries, has closed schools and delayed the start of the academic year. This strike has mobilized teachers across the politically divided country.
Teachers' Demands
Libyan teachers are demanding salary increases, health insurance, and compensation for overtime work. Classes for approximately 1.6 million students in public schools, which were supposed to start in early September, have been suspended, and teachers have regularly taken to the streets to demand their rights.
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Fatima Ali, one of the teachers in Tripoli, said in recent protests: "Teachers in Libya are suffering" and urged officials to increase their salaries, especially compared to other public sector employees whose salaries have increased.
Support for the Teachers' Movement
The movement known as the "Teachers' Movement," now supported by the Libyan Teachers' Union, has held large protests in front of the government headquarters in Tripoli. Last week, this movement managed to bring thousands of protesters to the streets and threatened a general strike.
Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has faced violence and instability and is currently divided between the UN-recognized government in Tripoli led by Abdulhamid Dbeibeh and a rival government in the east supported by military commander Khalifa Haftar.
Thousands of teachers have regularly protested since mid-September, and this movement has spread from Tripoli to Benghazi in the east of the country. Teachers are demanding fair pay that aligns with the salary scale of government employees to ensure "social justice and suitable living conditions against inflation."
Ashraf Abulrawi, spokesperson for the General Teachers' Union of Libya, said: "Teachers are now demanding tangible action and specific measures" and added that the strike is currently being fully supported by public sector teachers. Meanwhile, private schools have not participated in this action.
The Ministry of Education based in Tripoli has held several meetings to address teachers' demands regarding health insurance, but has not yet responded to their requests regarding salaries. The ministry has also announced that it will make changes to the school calendar, including canceling holidays, to compensate for the classes lost due to the strike.
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