ULAN BATOR, Nov.13 (Xinhua) -- Mongolian teachers on Monday began a indefinite strike across the nation to demand higher pay from the government.
Teachers with a total of 177 secondary schools, 217 kindergartens and 11 scientific organizations vowed to continue the strike until the government decides to raise their salaries.
In a letter addressed to the authorities of the educational and scientific organizations, Minister of Education, Science and Sport Tsedenbal Tsogzolmaa said that the strike would only lead to a mess, but not solve the financial issues.
The wage issue can not be resolved by blackmail or provocation, which will cause damage to the interests of students, their parents and the society, Tsogzolmaa said in the letter.
In efforts to partially satisfy the demand of the teachers, the government decided to issue a one-time premium in the amount of 516,000 Mongolian togrogs (about 210 U.S. dollars).
But the interim committee of the teachers said that a single measure will not solve their financial issues, demanding a 50 percent pay rise as of January 1, 2018. If so, the average salary of Mongolian teachers who works in public schools will rise from the current level of some 162 U.S. dollars per month to 244 U.S. dollars per month.
Mongolian teachers began their protest over pay in August this year. But the government refused their demand in case the country loses support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
One of the conditions for allocating aid to Mongolia within the framework of the IMF is a refusal to raise salaries for civil servants and pensions until 2020.
In total, there are 778 schools in Mongolia, 590 of which are State-run schools.
