Opinion analysis by Johnny Achkar, Staff Writer and Maria Wehbe, Featured Writer

June 26th, 2021

Teacher union movements have been accused of blocking reform efforts and have been chastised for failing to uphold their professional obligations to learners and teachers (Bascia & Osmond, 2013). According to critics, teacher union movements tend to shield incompetent teachers, prioritize their own demands and interests over those of their pupils, and want pay increases even when there is a greater need to improve teacher professionalism and quality (Moe, 2011). Concerns have also been raised about the extent to which teachers’ unions influence schools and policies. Furthermore, in the Global North, teacher union movements are among the largest labor organizations, with mandatory union membership fees, making them powerful policy actors with the financial wherewithal to lobby in politics. However, due to this influence, teacher union movements have “fewer allies and are politically isolated” (Weiner, 2012, p. 11). As a result, just displaying the strength of teacher union movements is insufficient: without a thorough grasp of their mission, aims, attitudes, as well as the difficulties faced that influence their actions, these issues diminish their credibility at times.

In Lebanon, there are three teacher unions: The Teacher Syndicate of Lebanon, the Public Primary School Teachers League and the Public Secondary School Teachers League. The history of teacher union movements may best be regarded as a progressive movement, with the primary goal of improving teachers' professional position. However, despite their efforts, these Lebanese unions have had difficulty establishing their identities and reinforcing their presence.

Since 1910, private school teachers and principals have sought to create a union, which was successful in 1938, during the French mandate. The goal of private school teacher union movements was to promote education by raising teachers' economic, social, and professional prestige (Samaha, 2006). However, the country's sectarian and political disputes have had a severe impact on the union leadership, especially in terms of union elections, collaboration, and decision-making. In reality, in 1971, the union broke due to disagreements among union officials over election results and the allotment of union posts based on sectarian quotas (“Teacher Syndicate of Lebanon,” 2018).

The first public educational organization of teachers was founded in 1948, following Lebanon's independence from France. Teachers began to adopt a unionization strategy in which they worked together to express their thoughts and guarantee that their voices be heard. The elementary school teachers were the first to make requests to enhance their existing situation. Since their incomes were the lowest among instructors and their professions were considered as less prestigious than those in secondary schools and private schools, these teachers believed they were taken for granted by the government. Elementary school teachers demanded improved working conditions, including a pay boost, an increase in the pace of promotion to once every two years, and a reduction in the number of years of service from 30 to 20 (Sahely, 1973, p. 11).

When their requests with the government came to a halt in 1950, primary teachers went on strike for the first time. As a result, the government put pressure on teachers at public schools and threatened to dismiss them. In an attempt to scare the strike leaders, the administration also referred them before disciplinary committees. This law did not prevent public school teachers from striking. These actions, on the other hand, encouraged instructors to pursue their objectives. Elementary teachers' perseverance earned them two promotion scales in 1964 and a commensurate salary boost of 6, 9, and 12 percent depending on their pay scale in 1969.

In addition, 7235 elementary and middle school teachers were offered a league, the Public Primary Schools Teachers League, on April 5th, 1972, under decree 335 that was issued as a result of a month-long strike (Sahely, 1973, p. 82; Samaha, 2006, p. 144). Between 1968 and 1975, teacher union movements flourished in Lebanon, as they championed reform concerns and helped in enhancing the conditions of public schools. In addition, teacher union memberships grew (Samaha, 2006, p. 55).

Teacher unions had demands that were not just pecuniary at the time. On the other hand, these requests were aimed at boosting education. Among the requests were the revisitation and amendment of the curriculum, the unification of textbooks (especially the History textbooks, given Lebanon’s complicated history and there not being one sole Lebanese history textbook), the organization of mathematical and scientific topics, the reinforcement and improvement of public education, the care of students' health, and raising awareness about the importance of kindergarten (Al-Amine, 1994).

On January 23rd, 1973, one year after the Public Primary Schools Teachers League was founded, an open strike resulted in the discharge of 309 teachers nationwide (Samaha, 2006, p. 70). The strike was initiated as a result of the demand for the establishment of a teacher cadre. This demand also included giving teachers the right to free speech and expression, as well as the right to form a single union that represents all public school teachers, and the right to participate in committees that deal with educational issues such as curriculum reform, textbook unification, and deciding and reducing book prices.

In 2005, the Lebanese teacher’s syndicate launched its teachers’ right booklet, which was funded by the United States Aid for International Development (USAID), and was also supported by the America-Mideast Educational and Training Services in Lebanon. Although this seemed like a step in the right direction, most, if not all, of the rights that are mentioned in this booklet are not respected nor recognized today: teachers in Lebanon have to fight for their rights today more than ever. Protests erupt every now and then, strikes have become very common and the quality of education is continuously dropping.

However, one must also look at the teacher union movements that have erupted all over the MENA region over the last couple of years in order to put matters into perspective—there is a reason why these teacher union movements are always so recurrent, and it is not only because teachers’ rights are being breached and violated, but because high-quality education really is at risk of being terminated, given its state in the entire region.

Let us take the case of Morocco. For the last couple of years, teachers have been protesting because they are being given temporary contracts, meaning that they are receiving part-time salaries although they are working full-time jobs. Protests have erupted as recently as of March 2021 and the teachers are calling out on the government to do something about it. Morocco’s constitution has protected the right to strike ever since 1962, yet teachers are met with nothing short of violence, sexual harassment, and assault. Unions are calling out the government to engage in a real social dialogue in order to develop legislation that is consistent with international law. On another hand, it is worthwhile looking at the case of Jordan as well. In July of 2020, the Jordan Teachers’ Syndicate was shut down and dissolved by the government—it represented around 140,000 teachers nationwide. It had been founded in 2011 and was the largest independent organization in the country, one that would protect teachers. As a result, protests began, and now, dozens of teachers who protested against the government’s decision are being forced into early retirement and are taking drastic pay cuts along the way as well. The union’s leader, Naser Nawasrah, is currently facing a set of criminal charges that could put him in prison, as a result of openly criticizing the government’s action against the union. These are only two examples out of many: these unions seem to be causing more problems than they are solving, and they are putting teachers, students and good quality education at risk all over the region.

In 2015, the Arab Teachers’ unions established a New Arab Organization for Education. Education unions from twelve Arab countries met in Beirut on October 7th and 8th, 2015, in order to establish this organization that would promote quality education, the status of teachers and democratic development in these respective countries. They accused the Federation of Arab Teachers (FAT) of not being active enough, as well as being too dependent on governments and education authorities when it came to taking decisions and doing what was best for the educational institutions. Many of the countries’ educational systems have taken really big hits given their current situations - countries such as Syria and Yemen are suffering from insurgency and war, while others such as Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan are overburdened: their school systems are not properly functioning and that must be amended. The safety and security of both students and teachers must be accounted for, as well as the violation of teachers’ civil rights and professional freedom —strong and effective regional cooperation is a must if we are to deal with this situation head on.

Yet, at the same time, one must overlook the goal and role of teacher union movements and examine whether they really improve the quality of education, especially in the Arab world. Mark Simon, a teachers’ union leader from the United States advocates for expanding the role of these union movements beyond only protecting their members, but rather also improving education and connecting to students and their families as a way of promoting equity. “The goal is to have teachers unions adopt a more constructive, objective and participatory approach in their relations with governments and with their own constituencies, so instead of saying no to reforms, they should instead say what is wrong with the reforms and keep a critical eye on the performance of their own affiliates,” said Mark Simon. The constructive engagement between governments and unions in the MENA region in order to raise education quality is still the exception rather than the norm.

All in all, it seems that teacher union movements must be reevaluated in terms of their effectiveness, achievement of their goals and whether or not they truly lead to change in terms of quality education, improvement of teachers’ rights, among many other demands. The problem remains their extreme reliance on the government and their avoidance of being more vocal about the issues that they are facing. In other words, the teachers who constitute these movements decide which topics to talk about and which to stay silent about, yet they’re all equally important. This is problematic because they decide which topics to deem more important than others in their opinion, yet might not be taking into consideration all teachers, especially given their state in the MENA region. This can be related to human rights—you cannot decide which human rights to respect and which ones to ignore; they’re all crucial and essential, and so are the demands of all the teachers in the region.

References:

- Bascia, N., & Osmond, P. (2013). Teacher union: Governmental relations in the context of educational reform. Ontario: Education International.

- El-Amine, A. (1994). Al-Ta'lim fee Lubnan: Waka'eh wa mashahed [Education in Lebanon: Facts and Observations]. Beirut: Dar Al Jadeed.

- Khayat, K. (2012). The left: can it be right for Lebanon? The path and prospects of the leftist movement in Lebanon (Doctoral dissertation, Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon)

- Moe, T. M. (2011). Special interest: Teachers unions and America’s public schools. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.

- Samaha, I. (2006). The dialectics of movement and awareness among educators in Lebanon. Beirut: Dar el Farabi.

- Weiner, L. (2012). The future of our schools: Teachers unions and social justice. Chicago, Illinois: Haymarket Books.