Those teachers are hired on a nine-month contract that begins and end with the academic year. They remain jobless in summers and if their schools want them back then a temporary contract is offered to them.
According to the contract, teachers have no job privileges such as annual, sick or maternity leave as well as breastfeeding break. Such teachers do not get pension when they reach retirement age as according to law, only those with at least one-year contract, could be included in the General Organisation for Social Insurance.
The Head of Kindergarterns Trade Union, Amina Abduljabar, warned the teachers against signing the contracts. She urged them to join hands against such practices of schools. Amina said that if the teachers refuse to sign the contracts then preschools would offer them a permanent job with better privileges contracts. “Without the qualified teachers, kindergarten can’t continue its operations."
All kindergartens in Bahrain are privately-run and admit students for small fees. Therefore, they pay their teachers a meagre salaries of BD100 only.
Amina was sacked from her school last year after serving more than 25 years, because she had demanded better rights for teachers.
The Ministry of Labour has formed a committee to address the issue. These teachers may be included in the BD200 minimum wage, fixed for Bahraini employees in the private sector.
