Teachers may strike, take legal action over unpaid allowances

KUWAIT: The Kuwait Teachers' Association (KTA) is considering taking industrial action and, if this fails, possible legal action against the Ministry of Education (MoE) and Deputy Education Minister Tamadher Al-Sdairawi over the non-payment of previously agreed allowances to teachers for invigilating in examinations and marking exam papers. KTA head Ayed Al-Sehali revealed that the association has already submitted an official letter of complaint to the education minister Dr. Moudhi Al-Humoud, enquiring a
bout the reason for the failure to pay the agreed allowances, despite months having passed since they were due.

Al-Sehali also drew attention to a memorandum issued by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) indicating that the suspension of the payments had been authorized by Al-Sdairawi. He also insisted that if the deputy minister was proven to have directly intervened to suspend the payments, she should be held accountable for her "arbitrary actions regarding the issue," reported Al-Qabas.
Al-Sehali also warned that among the other action which the KTA's members are willing to take if their grievances are not resolved is to refuse to participate in the committees responsible for organizing invigilation for exams and marking exam papers for this academic year.

Commenting on suggestions that the teachers should not be paid extra allowances for exam invigilation and marking exam papers since these activities should be viewed as part of their normal duties, the KTA head said that the ministry has always paid allowances to teachers in exchange for their additional work in this area.

One MoE official insisted, however, that the final decision on all teachers' allowances is up to the education minister herself since she is the only person authorized to take these decisions. The official asserted that Al-Sdairawi's office had in fact referred the issue to former education minister Nouriya Al-Subaih, saying that with the subsequent reshuffle the matter had been suspended ever since.

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has warned all government ministries and other state bodies against failing to commit themselves fully to following the legal procedures in place concerning the payment of staff allowances. The commission emphasized that all such bodies are legally bound to seek the CSC's approval before authorizing such payments, reported Al-Watan.

The regulations state that the authorization for staff allowances is solely the prerogative of the CSC and that government bodies must base their decisions on such issues on the CSC's recommendations, with the CSC being the only body empowered to conduct the necessary research and studies into applications for such allowances. The commission's warning followed several cases in which allowances were paid without following the CSC regulations.