Association rejects govt decision over teachers’ award

THE Government’s decision to pay teachers their award according to their 2017-19 salary agreement in their fortnightly pay over three years was rejected by the PNG Teachers’ Association yesterday.
The amount involved is K93 million and according to PNGTA secretary Ugwailubu Mowana, the government decided to pay the teachers each year the previous year’s award in fortnightly instalments.
The PNGTA received the government proposal outlining the instalments for the award 2017-19 yesterday.
The government proposed to pay the teachers the outstanding amount for last year in this year’s fortnightly pay. Similar instalments will be made next year for this year’s award and next year’s award paid in 2020, according to the government proposal.
But Mowana said they wanted last year’s amount paid next month or in instalments of three to five fortnights.
“Yesterday we informed the chief secretary and the line departments that we reject those three proposals by the State, instead we have informed the chief secretary and the line departments that the PNGTA wants the 2017 outstanding awards settle in March or preferably instalments of three to five fortnights,” he said.
“We will return to the members to give us direction how to behave in our struggle to get this agreement settled now.
“Let me emphasise, if we agree with the government’s proposal of those three schedules of payment, we will be denied of our future negotiation.
“This comfort of salary increase will not be realised because as the times go forward the purchasing power of that increase will be derailed by inflation and other factors within the melting down of the current state of the economy.
“That is why over the last 24 hours there has been a lot pressure coming from the members that they want to be paid by the end of first term school year. We are very disappointed to learn that this agreement was never factored in the 2018 Budget.
“What did the Teaching Service Commission do? They know, they signed the agreement, why didn’t they factor it in the 2018 Budget?”