The General Union of Teachers in Libya escalated the confrontation with the interim “national unity” government headed by Abdul Hamid Al-Dabaiba, and announced, on Sunday, that all schools would go on a general strike.
This strike, which is supported by the Teachers Union, follows sit-ins that began with the start of the school year on September 13, to demand an increase in salaries, the provision of health insurance, and an improvement in the standard of living.
The General Union adheres to its position in support of thousands of teachers, despite the government’s demands to end the sit-in, following a meeting held by the sub-unions with a government representative on Saturday evening. This sit-in is seen as tightening the noose on the government, which is facing increasing pressure in service and security issues.
According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), education in Libya receives the largest share of the national budget, but teachers in the public sector have long expressed their dissatisfaction with their working conditions.
The General Union said in its statement that the representative of the “unity” government asked the attendees to lift the ongoing sit-in until the teachers’ demands began to be implemented, but all those who participated in the meeting “conclusively confirmed that lifting the sit-in will only happen through practical, clear and tangible steps on the ground, represented by the issuance of official decisions, and the start of the actual implementation of some of the demands, and not just with promises.”
The union confirmed that its decision “will remain stemming from the rules and the will of teachers in all cities, and that it will not take any step regarding lifting the sit-in except after returning to the subsidiary unions,” stressing the need to improve living conditions and salaries in a way that befits the teacher’s status, in addition to “activating the laws and legislation that guarantee the teacher’s rights and dignity.”
Libyan schools in many regions expressed their solidarity with the general union’s announcement, and went on strike to demand “legitimate rights and entitlements,” and to affirm “union unity.”
Male and female teachers at Zamzam, Wadi Bi, and Abu Najim schools, in central Libya, near the cities of Sirte and Bani Walid, announced that they are “on a complete strike in solidarity with the rest of Libya’s teachers,” stressing that “the strike will continue until the demands are actually responded to and clear and tangible steps are taken.”
Teachers complain of their low salaries, which in many cases do not exceed two thousand dinars per month (about $313 in the official market and $207 in the parallel market), at a time when they are no longer commensurate with the high cost of living, in addition to the delayed payment of dues and the absence of effective health insurance.
Teachers in Qarabulli, in western Libya, also announced they would go on strike, to demand that teachers’ rights be met and their demands be implemented, in order to achieve fairness in wages among workers in the sector, and the disbursement of differences and financial dues in accordance with applicable legislation.
The Ministry of Education of the “National Unity” government called on municipal education monitors to “immediately begin opening closed schools and receiving students, in order to ensure their basic right to continue their education during the current academic year.”
The Minister of Education, Dr. Muhammad Al-Qaryou, confirmed in an official directive addressed to education monitors that the ministry is “following up with great interest the demands of teachers.” Pointing out that “there are persistent and serious efforts being made by the government to resolve these demands and respond to them.”
In an initial response to developments in the strike, the government began moves to resolve the health insurance file for teachers. The Minister of State for Prime Minister and Council of Ministers Affairs, Mohamed Ben Ghalboun, held a meeting on Sunday to discuss establishing a practical mechanism for implementing the health insurance program for employees of the education and health sectors.
According to what was reported by the “Our Government” platform, the meeting discussed the controls for implementing the program, the target groups, the quality of health services included, in addition to the administrative and financial arrangements to ensure implementation. The attendees also stressed the need to enhance coordination between the competent authorities, to define roles, responsibilities and launch stages, in preparation for starting the project in accordance with the applicable legal and regulatory frameworks.
The meeting was attended by: the Minister of Education and the Minister of Health, Muhammad Al-Ghouj, along with the Director of the Inspection and Follow-up Department in the Cabinet Office, Khalifa Shaliq.
Al-Qariu had discussed, on Sunday morning, with the Superintendent of Education in the Central Municipality of Tripoli, Buthaina Al-Jadi, the latest developments in the progress of the educational process.
The Ministry of Education said that during the meeting, “ways to solve the problems and bottlenecks facing the educational process were reviewed.” Emphasizing that the educational system is integrated, depends on the presence of students in the classroom, and includes the rights and care of teachers.”
At the conclusion of the meeting, Al-Qaryou stressed “the Ministry’s full commitment to safeguarding students’ rights and their educational journey, to ensure their academic future.”
Coinciding with the announcement of the teachers’ strike, the High National Elections Commission in Libya announced, on Sunday, the final results of the elections for the General Union of Teachers Council, which resulted in Ramadan Al-Maqtouf winning the position of head of the Teachers Syndicate.
The former Minister of Education in the “National Unity” government, Musa Al-Magarif, previously announced, in a statement two years ago, that the total number of teachers in Libya is about 700,000, while the number of schools is about 6,400, between government and private, while the number of students is about 2,300,000 students.
Parties opposed to the authorities in Algeria have warned of a “remarkable reluctance to run” in the local elections scheduled for November 28, due to a provision in the electoral law that could lead to the exclusion of candidates based on supposed connections to financial and business circles.
The legislative elections that took place on July 2 witnessed widespread controversy over the acceptance of candidacy files, after the Independent National Elections Authority announced the rejection of the files of 1,762 candidates on the grounds that they were “known to the public for their connections to financial and business circles and suspicious activities.” Candidates' files were also rejected for other reasons.
The leaders of the “Socialist Forces Front,” “Voice of the People,” and “Vanguards of Freedom” parties expressed, through press statements, fears of “engineering” the upcoming municipal and state elections, stressing that they face two types of political reluctance: a reluctance to run, and a high probability of widespread refusal to go to the ballot box.
The head of the “Voice of the People” party, Al-Amin Osmani, warned in a press conference in the capital on Saturday of the consequences of “a real crisis hindering political formations,” which, according to his statement, is represented by “a widespread reluctance of citizens to participate in local entitlements,” attributing this to fears of “misapplication of Article 184” of the Municipal and State Elections Law.
Osmani explained that the elites and competencies qualified to run are concerned about the absence of guarantees ensuring the proper implementation of this legal text. Calling on the “Independent National Elections Authority” to issue a memorandum that precisely explains the cases covered by Article 184 “in order to spread reassurance among those wishing to run.”
The controversial article addresses 7 conditions that must be met by anyone wishing to run for the municipal or state council, the most controversial of which is the last condition, which stipulates: “He must not be known to the public for his connection to financial and suspicious business circles, and his direct or indirect influence on the free choice of voters and the proper conduct of the electoral process.”
Osmani stressed the need to respect what is included in the law itself, with regard to indicating that “rights, freedoms and guarantees cannot be restricted except by law” and for specific reasons. These include maintaining public order and security, protecting national constants, or protecting other rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution. He also points out that “in any case, these restrictions cannot affect the essence of rights and freedoms.”
For his part, the head of the “Vanguards of Freedoms” Reda Ben Ounan, in statements to the news website “Ultra Algeria,” warned of a bleak scenario looming on the horizon of the upcoming elections, meaning that there will be “elections without candidates, or with nominal candidates to fill the void in many electoral districts,” pointing out that “the exacerbation of difficulties and obstacles threatens to alienate several party formations and push them toward extinction from the political scene.”
In a comprehensive assessment of the scene, the head of Al-Tala’i, a former parliamentarian, believes that “this systematic restriction heralds the inevitable exclusion of many political forces, especially those affiliated with the opposition, leading to the disappearance of many of them.”
In the context of expressing the same concerns, the First Secretary of the “Socialist Forces Front,” Youssef Oshish, confirmed to the “Al-Khabar” channel, which broadcasts its programs on YouTube, that the growing fears of the phenomenon of electoral reluctance “are the result of a legal system that frames the electoral process, and the product of a general political climate that does not encourage involvement in public affairs and elections at all.”
Oshish explained that his party seeks, within its capabilities, to “encourage Algerian citizens to engage in the electoral process and avoid political resignation.” Because abandoning the field leaves room for others to decide on their behalf.”
He added: “The accumulation of difficulties and problems pushed Algerians to resign from the political scene,” stressing that the responsibility for this reluctance lies primarily with the authority, which he calls upon to “rebuild the lost trust between society and its constitutional institutions.” He pointed out that his party seeks to “establish a new contract between the national state and local groups, based on a solid foundation of mutual trust.”
There is a consensus among observers that the concerns of these parties are the result of the preparatory process for the parliamentary elections that took place in July and its results. Before the start of voting, hundreds of candidates were excluded due to suspicion of corrupt money, and the voting percentage was very low. It did not exceed 21 percent. No official charges were brought against those who were excluded from the legislative elections.
With this broad exclusion, the matter reached the point where a number of parties did not present candidates in some states as a result of the intense activation of what was called “the guillotine of Article 200 of the Legislative Elections Law,” which requires that a candidate for Parliament “not be known to the public for his connection with suspicious financial and business circles, or for his direct or indirect influence on the freedom of choice of voters and the proper conduct of the electoral process,” just as Article 184 requires the same thing in municipal and state elections.
