Hundreds of teachers protest in China over poor pay
- Petitioners say their incomes are much lower than public servants
More than 200 public school teachers protested outside a government office in southwestern China on Tuesday to demand better pay.
The teachers, from primary and middle schools in Jianyang, a county-level city in Sichuan province, rallied outside the municipal petition bureau and handed over a letter saying they were paid much less than other public servants in the region.
“Jianyang’s 10,000 teachers have suffered unfair treatment for many years and we are outraged,” the letter said. “We are fighting for our legal rights and we want our income to be on a par with that of public servants.”
Although national legislation stipulates that teachers’ remuneration must be at least as much as that of public servants, the income gap between the two groups in Jianyang has grown, according to the letter. While salaries had kept pace, there was a big gap in bonuses and other benefits, the teachers said.
One middle school teacher said the protest was triggered by the discovery about a month ago that public servants in the city would receive a 39,800 yuan (US$5,760) bonus this year, while teachers would get just 14,500 yuan.
“This bonus gap is bigger and bigger,” the teacher said. “In 2015, they received 10,500 yuan bonus and we teachers had only 7,000 yuan.”
