Ras Al Khaimah: Striking teachers at an Arabic private school in Dubai have returned to work after two days of protests over low salaries.
The school management promised to look into their grievances.
Teachers went on strike after management instructed them to sign new labour contracts stating that each of them received a salary of Dh2,000, the minimum salary for teachers as stipulated by the Ministry of Education. Their actual salaries range between Dh1,400 and 1,600.
The school management needed the contracts to renew the school licence, sources said. Teachers refused to sign the contracts unless they received the salaries as stated in the contracts.
Teachers said they reported their case to the Ras Al Khaimah Educational Zone.
The school management apparently told teachers they would be sacked if they didn't sign the contracts.
Parents urged the Ras Al Khaimah Educational Zone and the Ministry of Education to help resolve the dispute.
Teachers said the salaries they received were too low to support them and they needed to do private lessons to survive.
Teachers at the school are either male teachers who depend on private lessons to support their families, or female teachers sponsored by their fathers and husbands.
A senior official at the emirate's Educational Zone said officials were suprised that teachers would sign contracts stating that they received salaries of Dh2,000 if that is not the case. The official added teachers at this school had not approached the zone to complain about being forced to sign false documents.
Abdullah Al Shehi, who heads the Educational Zone, said the problems would be investigated.
By Nasouh Nazzal, Staff Reporter