Khaberni - The spokesperson for the Ministry of Labor, Mohammad Al-Zyoud, stated that the ministry received more than 850 complaints from workers in private schools during the first eight months of the year, most of which are related to wages and violations in implementing the unified electronic contract.
Al-Zyoud explained, through the "Voice of the Kingdom" program, that the unified electronic contract is approved, documented by the Ministry of Labor, and published in the Official Gazette, and it is binding for all parties including the union of workers and the union of private school owners.
He pointed out that the contract is deposited with the Ministry of Labor, which oversees and monitors its implementation, and it is effective from August 1 until July 31 for a full year.
Al-Zyoud clarified that the contract stipulates an annual increase for new teachers ranging between 2% and 5% based on competence and evaluation, while the category of veteran teachers maintains a fixed increase of 5%, except when a teacher moves to a new school under a new contract, adding that these clauses will be implemented starting from the next academic year.
Regarding summer vacation salaries, Al-Zyoud explained that defining contract dates aims to ensure the continuity of wage payment, noting that some schools still fail to pay salaries during this period.
Al-Zyoud revealed serious violations in some schools, including school owners retaining teachers' Visa cards until the salary payment date, confirming that this is considered a serious violation.
He mentioned that the ministry receives one or two complaints daily against private sector schools, highlighting the existence of 60,000 electronic contracts registered on the ministry's platform.
* Ministry of Education "We are not involved in drafting the unified contract terms"
On his part, Tariq Al-Tarawneh, Director of Private Education Management at the Ministry of Education, said that the ministry is not involved in drafting the terms of the unified contract, confirming that the Ministry of Labor is the supervising and monitoring authority for its implementation.
He added that the ministry circulates to private schools all the official documents it receives to enforce the application of electronic contracts, including stopping appointments in case of non-registration of contracts.
Al-Tarawneh affirmed that the Ministry of Education supports any decision that aims to protect the rights of workers in private schools, whether it is the unified contract or any alternative contract.
Nariman Al-Shawahin, a member of the advisory team for the "Stand with the Teacher" campaign, stated that violations against teachers in some private schools are still ongoing, noting that electronic contracts achieve justice when linked with three entities: the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of Education, and Social Security.
Al-Shawahin confirmed that the non-mandatory nature of the unified contract and weak supervision lead to continuous violations, noting that 80% of workers in the private sector are females, and more than 50% of the schools have registered on the electronic contract platform.
On his part, Yahya Al-Kaswani, General Manager of a private school, considered that the unified contract platform obliges schools to have specific dates for registering new teachers, considering this inappropriate, and requested a review of the start and end dates of the contracts to avoid any deformities or suspicions of forgery.
Al-Kaswani indicated that the number of workers in the private sector amounts to 100,000 teachers, and that it is necessary to pay two dinars annually per teacher for these contracts.
