Association wants teachers’ backpay all in one lump sum

By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
ABOUT 60,000 teachers will be uncomfortable if their three per cent increment is paid over a number of fortnights instead of a lump-sum payment because it will lose its impact, Teachers’ Association general secretary Ugwalubu Mowana says.
Mowana said staggered payments would be absorbed by the pressures of the tax and costs and teachers would not benefit as much as they would with a lump-sum payment.
Public Service Minister Elias Kapavore said 120,00 civil servants should receive their payment in their next pay (pay nine) next Wednesday but they were yet to decide how to pay the teachers, who made up half the public service.
He indicated that teachers’ payments could be made over a number of fortnightly pays.
Mowana said that arrangement would see the three per cent increase largely levelled out by tax and costs.
“The union is uncomfortable about the long, staggering spread of the schedule of implementation of the public sector salary fixation agreement,” he said.
“On this basis, we felt that the very staggering spread of the implementation that will take up to pay number 21 of this year to dispose the outstanding of the 2018 and the 2019 outstanding come pay number eight of 2020.
“We felt that the bread and butter economics and tax resume pressures on the increases of the three per cent will not benefit the take-home pay of workers.
That is the reason why the Council Of Public Sectors Union (COPSU) has recognised PNGTA’s move to protect its own collective bargaining agreement on the three wages.
“In other words, the PNGTA has varied a little bit on the schedule of the implementation set by the Government and give to the COSPU and that we have resolved this for PEA to consult with the Government to ensure that the staggering process of implementing is accommodated as per the available funds.
“For us teachers, we have decided that we don’t come into that agreement because this is important for us to protect our own salary fixation agreement in the teaching services. We have our own award which we want to protect.
“We also saw the economic influx that it will be negative, and in last week’s COSPU meeting, we agreed that the tax component caused upon that increase of three per cent will be weeded out by the pressure of the tax and pressure of the cost of living given the high inflation rate of this country at an average of over seven per cent annually.”