The Teachers’ Syndicate expressed strong dismay over the Cabinet’s failure to approve a financial allocation for the Compensation Fund of retired educators in private schools, despite a clear agreement reached nearly two months ago with Finance Minister Yassine Jaber.
In a statement on Friday, the syndicate said it was “surprised” that the Cabinet did not pass the proposal during its Wednesday and Thursday sessions, noting that the arrangement with the minister and syndicate head Nehme Mahfoud had been explicitly agreed upon.
According to the syndicate, Minister Jaber had previously explained that the 2023 law allocating 650 billion Lebanese pounds to the Compensation Fund could not be implemented due to the absence of a budgetary provision. The two sides then agreed to draft a new bill securing the necessary funds, which would be presented to the Cabinet before being referred to Parliament for approval.
While welcoming the Cabinet’s decision to approve funding for public sector and military retirees, the Teachers’ Syndicate questioned why the promised measure for private education retirees was not implemented. “Is it acceptable,” the syndicate asked, “for more than 5,000 retired teachers to continue receiving between $20 and $30 a month under such suffocating and humiliating living conditions?”
It described the delay as “a grave injustice” to private school retirees and urged Minister Jaber to immediately refer the funding proposal to the Cabinet without further delay. Otherwise, it warned, it would be compelled to resort to street protests and public demonstrations to demand fair treatment.
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