A number of Yemeni schools in the capital Sanaa have begun an indefinite strike on Sunday. (Archive)
A number of Yemeni schools in the capital Sanaa have begun an indefinite strike on Sunday, escalating their protests and aiming to get their salaries paid in the cities that are under the Houthi militia’s control.
Sources said that the schools of Sayyah, Jaber bin Hayan, Shaymaa and Jamal al Jamil, have begun an indefinite strike, until the salaries of their employees are paid.
The schools of Yemen al-Said, Maymounah and Halima al-Saadiyah had announced at the end of last month that they will be on strike to put pressure on the Houthi and Saleh militias in order to pay the salaries of the teachers and administrators for the last six months.
The same sources said that dozens of public schools in the capital are also on an undeclared strike with the continued absence of the majority of teachers and the presence of few teachers that are loyal to Houthi militias.
The sources from the Yemeni teachers’ union has clarified several days ago that the majority of teachers in the schools of Dhamar, Amran, Saada, Hodeida, Ibb, Bayda, Raymah and Mahweet, are all under the control of the Houthis, and thus have stopped teaching because their financial conditions have drastically deteriorated. This has engendered very difficult psychological conditions on teachers.
The Houthi and Saleh militias have continued their oppressing operations against the teachers and have made fake promises to resolve the salaries issue; however, the teachers have no other options now but to go on strike to claim their financial rights.
The lamentable situation of the teachers has forced them to find additional jobs so that they would earn some money for their daily life necessities. The majority have resorted to selling Khat in central cities or suburbs, while others have started working as sales persons in shops or even as construction workers.
The teaching union at the University of Sanaa confirmed that it is still on strike and called upon its members to commit to the strike in the next few days and not hand in the questions of the mid-terms in all faculties and departments.
The union warned about holding the midterms, pointing that this would be illegal in light of the strike.
