Thousands of public school teachers gathered outside the prime ministry office on Tuesday. The strike entered its ninth consecutive day.
Demonstrators were holding a banner reading, “We are not demanding chaos. We want our rights.”
“Humans have rights and teachers are human. We will not bow to injustice,” read another banner.
About 1.4 million Jordanian public school children have been staying at home since the beginning of the strike earlier in February.
Hassan Momani, a spokesman for the teachers, said that “90,000 of Jordanian public school teachers have been on strike across Jordan.”
The government used to grant a 100-percent increase in the annual bonus of the public school teachers in Jordan. However, the Kingdom decided in 2012 to give the teachers a 70-percent raise and pay the rest of the bonuses in installments over the coming three years.
Mustafa Rawasdeh, the head of the teachers union, said, “Today we send a strong message to decision makers and concerned parties that the teachers will stay firm over demands for their legitimate and gained rights and all parties should show responsibility towards this event.”
Another teacher who attended the demonstration on Tuesday criticized the government and said it “puts its head in the sand” when it comes to paying bonuses to the public school teachers.
Last week, Jordanian Education Minister Eid Dhayyat said the government could not afford a 100-percent increase in the annual bonus of the public school teachers in 2012 due to “the current difficult economic situation” in the country.
The Tuesday strike came as people in Jordan have held demonstrations to demand economic and political reforms and an end to corruption since January 2011.
HSN/JR/IS
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