Saudi Gazette report RIYADH — Women teachers who were on temporary contractual jobs are suing the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Civil Service for not providing them with permanent jobs. They claim that royal decrees were issued directing the ministries to provide them with permanent jobs, according to Al-Sharq newspaper. Temporary teacher Sanaa Al-Harbi said a circular was issued by an unauthorized official in the Ministry of Education, claiming royal decrees concerned only teachers who were on duty at the time. She claimed that temporary teachers have accepted unfair contracts and conditions only to support themselves and to avoid having to ask others for assistance. They were paid low salaries and asked to do additional administrative duties, she said, adding that they accepted all these conditions in the hope that they would be granted permanent jobs. She said the Ministry of Education has employed new graduates, while priority should have been given to temporary teachers. She claimed that in a letter sent to the higher authorities, the minister of education indicated that priority would be given to temporary teachers. The Royal Court has formed a committee with representatives from the ministries of education, civil service and finance to find a solution to the teachers' situation. She said the committee was formed more than one and a half years ago, but no solutions have been reached. Mashael Al-Shammari said she used to work on an hourly basis in a remote village, 350 km away from her place of residence. She and other colleagues would leave their houses before dawn and had to travel on perilous roads. She was faced with many problems to care for her family because she would spend more than seven hours on the road. They once were in a traffic accident but escaped with some minor fractures and bruises. She had to bear all this in the hope that she would be permanently employed. The teachers' lawyer Asir Al-Qarni said he would submit a case to the Board of Grievances, suing the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Civil Service for their alleged negligence. He said he would also demand that all those 10,000 teachers be paid retrospectively according to the royal decrees. He said he had met with the minister of education and his deputy but came out of the meeting with no real resolutions. He pointed out that the temporary teachers' contracts are illegal and unfair. The teachers were forced to accept the contracts as they had no alternative and the Ministry of Education took advantage of them. Ministry of Education spokesman Mohammad Al-Dekhaini said the case has not seen any developments yet, but he stressed that the teachers are a priority for the ministry.
