Kleesh: Teachers’ Action Aims to Secure Rights, Not Disrupt Classes; Demands Begin with Salary Alignment
LIBYA – Wasim Kleesh, head of the Teachers’ Union Steering Committee in Al-Urban, commented on developments related to a decision on a general strike at the start of the school year and the possibility of reaching an agreement with the government.
Speaking by phone on the “Libya Al-Ahrar” channel, which broadcasts from Turkey and was monitored by Al-Marsad, Kleesh said the committee had followed the Teachers’ Union statement calling for teachers’ rights to be upheld. He stressed that dialogue between teachers and the relevant authorities remains open.
He added that teachers do not seek a strike or sit-in before exhausting all legal avenues. He said he hoped to engage the relevant bodies — whether the Ministry of Education or municipal education offices — to give serious consideration to teachers’ demands.
Salary Alignment Under the Unified Pay Scale
Kleesh outlined core demands he described as long-standing and well-known, foremost among them bringing education-sector salaries in line with other sectors under the unified pay scale.
He noted that the unified pay scale provides higher salaries than those paid under Law No. 4, under which teachers currently receive their pay. He stressed a vast gap between salaries in other sectors and those in education, which have reached the minimum.
Lesson Allowance Still Unpaid
Kleesh also raised a demand he described as very important for its impact on teachers and their performance in class: paying the lesson allowance to eligible teachers for the 2025/2026 academic year.
He said the Education and Finance ministries had, in a direct statement during a meeting with the prime minister, said the funds would be paid to eligible recipients, adding that the allowance has still not been paid.
Health Insurance and Student Overcrowding
He also addressed implementing and approving health insurance in the education sector, along with tackling student overcrowding, particularly inside educational institutions. He described it as a widely recognised problem affecting both students and teachers.
Kleesh further affirmed efforts to enact a “Teacher’s Right” or “Teacher Protection” law and bring it into force so that it guarantees teachers all their professional and social rights within the state.
“Teachers Do Not Seek to Disrupt the Functioning of the State”
Kleesh said teachers raised their demands before the actual start of the school year in the hope that the authorities would respond.
He stressed that teachers across Libya do not seek to disrupt the functioning of the state, harm learners, or create obstacles in any form.
He emphasised that the demands would remain within a legal framework, and that even if a sit-in goes ahead, it would be legal, inside schools, without teachers staying away from work, and organised.
Unions in the East and West Back the Action
Kleesh noted that a group of teachers’ unions in municipalities in the eastern and western regions had announced solidarity with the action and the demands, while others had said they would join the sit-in before the start of the school year to press for a response from the relevant authorities.
He concluded by saying the movement has gained momentum and that the message has reached the ministry. The main goal, he said, is not the strike itself but securing rights he described as legitimate and undisputed.
