College lecturers' strike ends as main terms are met
After senior lecturers from 17 colleges throughout the country went on strike over poor working conditions compared to university lecturers, talks with Finance Ministry and PBC representatives brings the issue to a temporary, but stable, close.
Senior college lecturers have ended their strike over poor working conditions after reaching an agreement Sunday with the Finance Ministry, whereby their salaries will be equated to those of senior university lecturers until a new comprehensive accord is signed.
The Committee of Heads of Public Academic Colleges formulated a blueprint for a collective agreement that would apply to college lecturers. The plan was approved by representatives of the Ministry of Finance and the Planning and Budget Committee under the Council for Higher Education.
According to the blueprint, a collective agreement will be formulated for an extended period during which salaries approved for university lecturers will also apply to college lecturers. In addition, it was agreed that budgets should be allocated to promote research and teaching.
All college classes canceled due to the strike were resumed Monday.
Some 2,000 doctors and professors in teaching in 17 public colleges throughout the country have been complaining about their employment conditions for quite some time, and have been demanding equal conditions to those of their counterparts at universities.
While college senior lecturers receive identical pay to that of their colleagues at universities, the college lecturers said they work double the amount of hours—12 teaching hours a week compared to 6-8 weekly teaching hours for university lecturers. They also protested the fact they are not eligible for paid sabbaticals and research budgets like their university counterparts.
Two weeks ago they announced a labor dispute with the Planning and Budget Committee over the issue.
The lecturers met with representatives from the Finance Ministry and the Council for Higher Education's Planning and Budgeting Committee several times over the past few days, but the meetings ended without results, prompting the lecturers to announce a strike with no scheduled end date.
