Ruling affects 200,000 male and female teachers across the KingdomTAIF: The Court of Appeal in Riyadh Tuesday approved a verdict of the Administrative Court in Makkah Region to dismiss the case 200,000 male and female teachers filed against the Ministry of Education, demanding payments of salary differences since the dates of their appointments. The teachers, believed to be the first public sector employees in Saudi Arabia to organize a national legal effort against a government ministry, also demanded that the years they spent on flat-rate salaries must be taken into consideration in assessing their experience, along with their placement in job grades they are entitled to, according to the salary scale approved by the Council of Ministers. It is learnt that the Court of Appeal verdict is final, and it ends the biggest and most important case filed by male and female teachers – after 300 court hearings in four years. Ahmad Al-Malki, the attorney representing male and female teachers, confirmed the issuance of the Court of Appeal verdict without giving his opinion on it or stating what his next step might be. It sufficed him to say, “A statement will be issued giving the full details of the case.” Several teachers who requested anonymity said the verdict by the Court of Appeal would not close the case and that they would take other steps such as resorting to human rights organizations in the Kingdom. They said they would resort to further actions details of which will be disclosed at an appropriate time. The Court of Appeal verdict came after several twists and turns in the long-running, high-profile case; the Court of Appeal had rejected the Administrative Court's verdict that dismissed the case. In doing so, the Court of Appeal referred the case back to the Administrative Court to look into it once again, but the Administrative Court insisted on its verdict and issued a second one dismissing the case. The second dismissal was approved Tuesday by the Court of Appeal.
