PALESTINE

PALESTINE: Syndicate announces class suspension
The Syndicate of Palestinian Universities Union announced the suspension of classes in West Bank institutions last Monday, because of what it called a lack of response to employees' demands by the Palestinian Council for Higher Education, reports Ma'an news agency. The strike was the third in a week, following two student-led strikes over a Palestinian Authority Ministry of Education decision to convert most of its tuition grants into loans.The head of the syndicate, Amjad Barham, said the union would organise a series of protests following what he described as a failure of the Council for Higher Education to respond to the demands of employees. Demands include an adjustment to salaries for increased cost of living in the West Bank, and being included in the government pension system as civil service employees.
Full report on the Ma'an site