TEACHERS throughout Algeria went on strike today in protest against low salaries and deteriorating working conditions, following demonstrations staged by students last month in an unusual expression of dissent.

Students stood outside shuttered classrooms as teachers began a two-day strike, though public criticism of the government is becoming rarer. 

Teachers say the strike is significant amid a gradual erosion of rights, including for women, the press and opposition parties.

The right to strike is “a right enshrined in the constitution,” said Hafidha Amireche, a long-time trade unionist.

Despite investing more in education than its neighbours, Algeria’s school system has become a vector for popular anger over government problems including rising costs, corruption and a lack of jobs for skilled and educated workers.

Teachers say they’re underpaid and educated young people are increasingly trying to emigrate out of the country in search of opportunities, with European visa applications steadily rising.

To address economic malaise, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has raised wages, including for public-sector workers like teachers, by around 37 per cent.

But teachers’ unions say starting salaries were barely more than the minimum wage or unemployment stipends, and are hoping for increases.