ALGIERS, 2 December 2003 — The Algerian government lost patience with striking teachers yesterday, taking union leaders to court to quash an eight-week walkout over pay that has raised fears of wider protests by disgruntled public workers.
The strike comes at an awkward time for President Abdelaziz Bouteflika as presidential elections in the oil-rich North African country are less than five months away. He is widely believed to be planning to run again despite declining to comment on the issue.
Education Minister Boubekeur Benbouzid threatened on Sunday to sack striking teachers and take legal action against union leaders if they did not end the nationwide strike.
The authorities yesterday began replacing teachers who ignored the ultimatum with university graduates and took 16 union leaders to court, a senior Education Ministry official, Boubeker Khaldi, told state radio.
Authorities said most teachers had returned to work over the weekend, a claim contested by unions, although many continued to stay away in the capital Algiers. Newspaper Le Matin said 35 percent or 20,000 teachers who had not returned to work now faced dismissal.
“There are still some establishments where teachers have not gone back at work, particularly in Algiers, so we are taking necessary measures against them,” Khaldi said. “The objective of the government and the (education) minister is not to enter into a war. We have respect for the teachers.”
Political analysts fear the strike, largely involving secondary school teachers belonging to independent unions, could trigger wider protests among public workers. There are more than 330,000 public sector teachers in a country of 32 million people.
“Due to the low rate of resumption of classes in Algiers, teachers in the region are deemed to have abandoned their posts and will begin to be replaced starting Monday, December 1,” an Education Ministry statement said. Last week, the government ordered secondary school teachers to end their strike over pay by Saturday or be struck off the official teachers’ register and replaced by university graduates.
Only 27 percent of teachers returned to work in the Algiers region, according to figures seen by AFP. “Notices of being sacked were delivered Sunday to all those who did not return to their schools,” the Education Ministry said.
Legal action has been taken against 16 alleged leaders of what the government has called an illegal and wildcat strike, the official said. Two teachers’ unions which are not officially recognized by the government launched the strike for salary increases on Oct. 14, and have enjoyed solid support from teachers voicing long-standing grievances.
An Algerian teacher with more than 10 years’ experience earns 10,000 dinars (112 euros) a month, just 2,000 dinars above the national minimum wage, which is set to rise to 10,000 dinars on Jan. 1.
The Education Ministry two weeks ago proposed a pay rise of 5,000 dinars (around 55 euros) a month to the teachers, but it was rejected by the striking National Council of Secondary and Technical Education Professors (CNAPEST) and the Council of Algiers Secondary Schools (CLA).
CNAPEST has also demanded that it be officially recognized as a teachers’ union and last week vowed to continue the strike until it prevails.
