Teachers in Libya have intensified their protests over salaries and working conditions, launching an open-ended strike that has brought public schools across the country to a standstill.
The protests began on September 13, when the new school year was scheduled to start. Teachers initially held sit-ins outside schools and government offices in Tripoli before the teachers’ union expanded the action into a nationwide strike.
Other unions have also threatened to join the strike unless the government opens negotiations over the country’s worsening cost-of-living crisis.
Teachers are demanding higher and unified salaries, payment of outstanding wage arrears, improved benefits, health insurance and better protection for teachers and their families.
They also complain about deteriorating school facilities, including a shortage of computer laboratories and damaged desks, with teachers and parents sometimes forced to purchase equipment themselves.
The unions are calling for a unified national salary system that takes into account rising living costs and fluctuations in the Libyan dinar against the US dollar. Retirees are also demanding the implementation of previous agreements concerning pensions.
They have warned against any “arbitrary or punitive” measures against workers, retirees or union leaders involved in the protests and urged the attorney general to investigate alleged corruption in public spending.
According to an education budget report prepared by Libya’s National Council for Economic and Social Development with UNICEF, about 91 percent of the country’s education budget is spent on salaries, leaving only a small portion for school equipment and other needs.
Libya’s education sector employed about 560,000 people in 2024, including approximately 270,000 teachers in basic and secondary education, in a country with a population of around 7.5 million.
The dispute is taking place amid Libya’s wider political division. The western part of the country is administered by the internationally recognised Government of National Unity in Tripoli, while the east is controlled by forces loyal to military commander Khalifa Haftar.
Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah has held meetings with senior officials, including Finance Minister Rashid Boughofa, to discuss the possibility of introducing a unified salary system covering government workers across different sectors.
However, implementing salary increases would require government approval, parliamentary action and banking procedures, potentially delaying a resolution.
The teachers’ union has warned the Education Ministry against reopening schools without addressing their demands, saying such a move could lead to further escalation.
The government has acknowledged that the teachers’ demands are legitimate but has also stressed the need to protect students’ right to education.
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