Barran Press
On Wednesday, December 4, 2024, educational sources reported that semester exams have been suspended in the majority of public schools in Aden, Yemen’s temporary capital, due to a strike initiated at the beginning of the month.
According to sources speaking to Barran Press, the strike continues across schools, although a few institutions have conducted exams out of fear that students would miss out on assessments. The number of schools that proceeded with exams is limited.
Union sources attributed the ongoing strike to the suspension of salaries for more than two months, noting that teachers in Aden are entering their third month without pay. Teachers have declared a comprehensive strike until they receive two months' salaries simultaneously for October and November. They have also stipulated that salaries should be paid at the end of each month, starting from the 25th.
Urgent demands from teachers in Aden include restructuring salaries to align with the current cost of living, ensuring that teachers can maintain a decent standard of living. Additionally, teachers are calling for the same employment conditions as those for staff hired in 2011, who continue to suffer from low wages despite representing a significant portion of educators in Aden.
The demands also include the urgent stabilization of contracted teachers, either through replacement or direct hiring. Teachers are holding the internationally recognized Yemeni government accountable for neglecting their rights and failing to address their demands, including salary increases and the regularization of salaries, as well as hiring new staff for the educational sector.
On December 1, the Southern Teachers' Union announced the initiation of a strike across all schools in Aden due to the delayed payment of teachers' salaries. The newly formed entity associated with the Southern Transitional Council stated that the strike was a response to widespread public discontent due to the government's failure to disburse salaries.
The statement emphasized that teachers in Aden are facing difficult living conditions due to the lack of salary payments over the past two months, with the union demanding immediate payment of teachers' dues in a lump sum to reconsider the strike decision.
On November 23, the Southern Teachers' Union gave the government a week to respond to their demands or face escalated measures, including protests outside local authorities and education offices.
While the internationally recognized Yemeni government has been managing salary payments across various sectors, the continued decline of the Yemeni rial against foreign currencies has exacerbated the challenges faced by employees, prompting many to leave their jobs for the private sector.