Sudanese teachers protest ‘illegal’ salary deductions for mobilization

November 14, 2025 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese Teachers’ Committee protested on Friday against what it called “illegal” deductions from teachers’ salaries intended to fund popular mobilization forces.

Volunteers under the “mobilization” banner are fighting alongside the Sudanese army against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The committee asserted that the decision to reinstate unions from the “defunct regime” was made to “pass the bad practices” exercised over the past years.

Teachers in Sudan face deteriorating living conditions due to unpaid salaries since the war broke out on April 15, 2023, affecting their ability to meet basic needs.

Committee spokesman Sami al-Baqir told Sudan Tribune the deductions, ranging from 3,000 to 10,000 pounds, began after the reinstatement of workers’ unions in River Nile, Northern, Gezira, White Nile, and Sennar states.

Al-Baqir added that a Ministry of Finance directive authorizes the deductions for mobilization, based on the approval of state-level workers’ unions.

He said teachers’ salary arrears since April 2023 range from 14 months to two years, in addition to arrears for various allowances and grants.

In a statement, the committee said that while salary payments are stable in five states, it described the condition of teachers elsewhere in Sudan as “deplorable,” stating they suffer from “poverty, sickness, and destitution.”

The committee demanded a halt to the deductions, the reinstatement of withheld allowances, and the payment of 14 months of salary arrears.

It called on workers and teachers to “bravely confront these violations and arbitrary practices” by the “returning National Congress unions.” The statement also emphasised that financial departments must comply with the 2007 Public Service Law.