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Rabat – Hundreds of teachers marched outside the headquarters of the Human Resources Department of the Ministry of Education in Rabat on Monday. The protest kick-started a four-day mobilization campaign.
The protesters gathered under the leadership of the “Cell 9” Teachers National Coordination, whose name references a prison cell; the government’s 9th pay grade; and a pun on “Tazmamart Cell 10;” a book by a Moroccan former military officer Ahmed Marzouki.
The Cell 9 group includes the Democratic Labor Confederation’s National Education Union (SNE-CDT), the Democratic Labor Federation’s National Education Union (SNE-FDT), and the National Teaching Federation (FNE).
The group is calling for the immediate promotion of its teachers. The teachers, who have for several years been paid at the 9th pay grade, are calling for an increase in their salaries and their promotion to the 10th pay grade.
The teachers also have a list of demands that the government has so far not met. Among their demands is opening a serious dialogue with the government to find a solution to their complaints.
According to news site 24ala24, the protesters broke into the human resources department for a sit-in. Police arrested some of them before releasing them later..
Minister of Education Said Amzazi met with five unions to discuss the complicated situation of contract teachers on Saturday.
Last week, contractual teachers held a “six-day regional sit-in” across the country, accompanied by a “national strike.”
The National Federation of Teachers (UMNT) expressed its solidarity with the teachers and denounced what they called “retaliatory actions against teachers who were forced to sign contracts.”
Morocco’s Ministry of Higher Education has announced it will abolish the contractual employment of teachers for a fixed term and proposed instead to hire them permanently within regional academies.
The ministry published a statement on Saturday stating that the contractual teachers would enjoy all the rights that permanent teachers employed by the government have, but within the regional academies with whom they initially signed the contract.
