Business Law

"Private School Teachers Strike Case"

Omani Private School teachers have been on strike since 1 month, making various demands including fewer working hours, the right to form a union and a salary structure based on seniority.

The senior school management officials have appealed, more than once, to teachers to resume work for the sake of the pupil's futures. Management officials believe that there are proper channels to raise the teacher's demands other than stoppage of working. The teachers are demanding less than 20 classes per week, but senior management officials claim that the internationally acceptable standard was 28 school periods per week. Each period lasts for 45 minutes and a teacher takes an average five classes a day. The management has argued that due to this practice, the strength of students has decreased drastically during last 5 years.

Whereas Omani Private School teachers stand is that the list of demands is to improve the situation for their students and themselves. It has been 1 month that the teachers are on strike. They are going to school but not going to class. The reports indicate that approximately 70% of the Private School teachers are actively engaged in this strike. Students appear to be going to school in the morning at 7a.m. as usual but then being sent home by 9a.m. by school administrators. Interestingly there is a nationwide media blackout in force regarding the strike. Teachers do not, currently have a nation-wide union. Teachers are allowed to organize unions, on a school by school basis after obtaining permission from the school principal. Following are the demands of Omani Private School teachers.

1. Provide a gym for students in each school

2. shorten the teaching day ( The teaching day is already quite short; approximately 5 contact hrs/day; Teachers do not do Extra Curricular Activities after school as all children head home by 1 p.m.)

3. Provide nursery for teachers' children (Many teachers are mothers who do not have daycare options readily available to them; this would make good sense, provide more jobs for trained daycare providers and be culturally appropriate);

4. Provide good buses for students-a seat for every child in the bus (Some buses are overcrowded and being potentially dangerous);

5. Change the curriculum and the assignments ( this is a very major undertaking and would require the MoE and teacher's representatives to sit down and discuss on what measurable outcomes they actually want to see happen in the school system. Currently automatic promotion is the norm and students are pushed up even if they are not able to handle grade level material. Teachers feel at a loss dealing with incredibly weak students and those who are at grade level in the same class. Part of the problem here is that teachers are not trained/skilled/provided materials and support for delivering differentiated learning outcomes; every student is measured with the same yard-stick);

6. Raise the salaries of teachers (Teachers are already quite well paid in the Omani scheme of things and only two years ago got across the board revised the salaries of teachers. Justifying a new round of wage increases in so short a period of time would be difficult given the perceived very low levels of inflation in Oman. Prices of essential commodities are controlled by the Govt. and rents, in many cases, have actually decreased due to oversupply in some centers.)

7. Provide raises for teachers based on performance. ( No details provided as to how performance would be measured. Standardized testing? If that were the case it could lead to tremendous amounts of teaching time lost to the administration of the tests and copious amounts of time lost to "teaching to the test" to ensure "good" results. There would also be the problem of teachers and school administrators manipulates the results so that they look good. This is an unfortunately common occurrence in this part of the world.)

8. Promote teachers every 4 years.

9. Female teachers should be brought back to schools near to their homes.

10. Teachers should teach only and (not) take substitution classes or other activities.

11. Teachers' salaries should not be cut during holidays. (Clearly teachers' salaries should be paid over 12 months of the year and not just the 10 months that they work; so adjustments would have to be made and monthly salaries lowered so teachers could get 12 months of pay rather than 10 months. This system works well in other countries.)

13. Teachers should only be required to teach 15 lessons a week.

14. Provide health insurance for teachers.

Tasks :

You are expected to write a report of 2000 words based on the above case. Your report should include:

1. A discussion on Trade Unions as a viable option to resolve disputes between employers and employees.( Use relevant literature to support the discussion).

2. A critical evaluation of trade unions in Oman and a justification of demands made by the Omani teachers in the given case.

3. A critical evaluation of the legality of the strike by Omani teachers in Private Schools under Omani Labour Law.

4. A discussion of the legal procedure of a strike and dispute resolution procedure prescribed under Omani Labour Law.