Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Education Minister Tayseer Nuaimi said Tuesday that the government had met all the provisions of an agreement it struck with the Teachers Association after a strike carried out by the latter at the start of the 2019/2020 academic year.

He said in a press briefing that the government had chosen dialogue as the avenue in dealing with the syndicate's council before its suspension, and had carried out all the terms of the deal, except one pending legislative amendment.

The minister pointed out that a series of meetings had previously been held with the council, or by the joint ad hoc committee, but the council had chosen the "path of dictates and rejection", and had not offered the ministry any constructive proposals.

He outlined the government's approach and measures concerning the 15 terms of the deal, including the amendment to the education security fund system and the terms for granting soft loans for education and housing purposes.

Commenting on the calculation of the years of service of expatriate teachers for retirement benefits, he explained that the matter required amendments to the civil pension law "in line with a special legislative path that is still ongoing."

He also said that under the agreement, all the penalties and judicial measures taken against teachers who committed violations during the one-month strike had been dropped.

Nuaimi said that the government had also delivered on its part of the bargain related to teachers' allowances, which were disbursed as of the beginning of the current year, but were suspended along with the bonuses of the other employees in the public sector and military servicemen due to the special circumstances imposed by the coronavirus pandemic.

He said that the disbursement of the allowances will restart early next year.