Rabat – The National Education Union, a workers union affiliated with the Democratic Confederation for Labor (CDT), issued a statement on Saturday calling on teachers to join in a new strike from November 21 to 23.
The call for strikes comes days after the government announced that it is ready to return to the negotiating tables with labor unions amid the ongoing strike that has crippled the education system.
In a statement posted on Facebook, the confederation said that the “ministry bears responsibility for the tension prevailing in the education sector.”
In addition to the strike, the confederation is planning “various forms of protest, including regional marches,” with one being scheduled for December 3.
Teachers are protesting against the New Mandate, a reform that they say overloads them with work without appropriate compensation.
Earlier estimates indicated that 30% of teachers in public schools are taking part in the demonstrations, making it one of the biggest labor strikes in the education sector.
“The turmoil stems from the flawed and regressive fundamental system imposed unilaterally, along with governmental insistence on restricting educational initiatives,” the confederation said in the statement.
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In an attempt to curb the rising tide of protests and its effect on education, the Ministry of National Education has decided to deduct salaries from teachers who are currently on strike.
The decision has sparked outrage among the unions, who see it as a violation of workers’ right to go on strike.
Responding to the strikes earlier this month, the Minister of Education Chakib Benmoussa said in comments during a House of Representatives session that the mandate “does not cover raising salaries,” emphasizing that the issue should be discussed separately outside of the framework of the new reform.
“The school, as a space for learning, should have its staff working as a team towards the set objectives,” Benmoussa added, stressing: “We provide the means, we are the team, and we motivate it, and we haven’t asked anyone to do more than what they are currently doing.”
