Strike action by frustrated Palestinian teachers escalates

It is now the second month of a strike by frustrated Palestinian teachers who are holding out for a pay rise demand they say was promised years ago without the government fulfilling its promise.

As a result of the strike, state schools across the West Bank have been closed and the strike has pitted teachers against their own union leaders and a government which at this time seems hesitant.
The grouse of the teachers is that their pay packets have not increased alongsde the rising cost of living.

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“Prices keep rising but my salary’s stayed the same. I’ve been teaching for 31 years now, and my basic salary is still just $600,” says Nasser Abu Thuraya, who is currently turning up to school but not teaching as part of the demonstration.
“I’ve put all my children through university, but with tuition, transport, books and other expenses, it’s been very very hard.”
Like several other teachers, Thuraya – a father of seven – has had to take on a second job.
For at least 20 years, he has moonlighted as a taxi driver.
The Palestinian governmenton the other hand is coming under growing pressure for refusing to compromise over the issue.

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