Liberia’s Teachers Begin New Strike

MONROVIA, Liberia — Public schoolteachers Tuesday began their second nationwide strike this year, demanding back pay, adequate instructional materials and better working conditions.

In a position paper presented to the Ministry of Education, the National Union of Liberian Teachers said they will “remain at home . . . until salaries and other demands are fully met.”

The teachers said the government owes them three months’ back pay and that their salaries are “always the last on the government payroll to be disbursed.”

Public schoolteachers struck last February for similar reasons, including the demand for restoration of a 25% pay cut in their salaries.

The February strike gained wide sympathy among students, who went on a rampage, damaging property and forcing their colleagues in private schools out of classes.