PNGTA role in building a new nation

The National Weekender
EDUCATION

By HENZY YAKHAM
MONDAY April 1 2024 was the 53rd anniversary of Papua New Guinea Teachers Association’s (PNGTA) formal registration as an association with the industrial registrar.
The PNGTA was registered on April 1, 1971 during PNG’s pre-independence years in times of struggle for the indigenous people on many fronts under the former Australian colonial administration.
During the transition from colonial rule to self-determination, the pioneer political and public service leaders confronted pressing issues such as nationalistic sentiments, self-rule, co-operative movements and workers’ rights.
During the formative years of then Territory of Papua and New Guinea, two unsuccessful attempts were made in mid 1960s to draft a constitution for what is now the PNGTA. It was a breakaway move from the colonial administration controlled Public Services Association.
The two attempts failed mainly because of the colonial administration’s negative attitude towards emerging labour movements initiated by indigenous workers.
On the third attempt in Australia with the help of trade unionists like Bob Hawke, who was a strong Labour advocate, a constitution was dratted. Hawke was with the Australian Teachers’ union around that time and later rose to greater prominence as Prime Minister of Australia.
With the final draft of the constitution, PNGTA was established on Dec 10, 1970. In the same year, the unified education system came into force with church agency schools in the territory coming under the public school system.
Under the unified education system, many church agency school teachers became members of the PNGTA. The interim PNGTA executive prepared the necessary paperwork to register the association.
On Feb 24, 1971, the Notice of Application was lodged with the Office of Industrial Registrar. A month later, PNGTA was formally registered as an association on the fore noon of Fools Day on April 1, 1971 by Industrial Registrar, F. J. McCrudden for a fee of A$4.20 with the Registration Number 39.
An Australian school principal, Peter Lemon became the first interim president and a Queenslander, Kevin Difflo, headmaster of Ward Strip Primary School, NCD was the first general secretary of PNGTA.
Within the union’s first year, the membership rose quickly to 5,000 out of the total teaching force of over 10,000 teachers at that time. The union membership grew and progressed under the presidency of Peter Lemon, Rose Kekedo, Br Peter Keaga, Emmanuel Silachot, Herman Kabai, Tegana Rupa, Tiana Dai and Tommy Hecko.
The general secretaries were Kevin Difflo, Manuel Bola, Frank Kondolo, Timwapa David, Moses Taian, Kini Puele, John Hosea, Murray Paiva, Leonard Jonli and Ugwalubu Mowana.
The PNGTA represents registered teachers under the PNG Education Act Chapter 163 with the main objective to fight for teachers’ welfare. The union is guided by its own constitution and by-laws, which defines the roles and responsibilities of the national, regional and provincial executives as well as all other related functions.
On April 10, 2008, the revised constitution was adopted at PNGTA’s 14th triennial congress in Alotau, Milne Bay. The management structure includes the national management committee (NMC), made up of the national president, national vice president, national treasurer, national women’s representative and two regional representatives each from the four regions, one male and one female.
Since inception, PNGTA has grown in membership and maturity in dealing with teachers’ issues and concerns as well as doing its best to make meaningful contribution to PNG’s education sector. In the past, the union progressed achieving for its members’ substantial salary increases and other entitlement benefits.
As PNG’s single largest public sector union, PNGTA strives to maintain harmonious industrial relations with the National Government, the Teaching Service Commission (TSC), Department of Education (NDOE) and other stakeholders.

Wage fixation agreements
A major issue that continues to confront PNGTA is that of better salaries and conditions for teachers. A notable breakthrough was the signing of two memoranda of agreement of salaries and allowances in the teaching service for 201-2013 and 2014- 2016. The agreements resulted in teachers getting substantial increases in their fortnightly salaries and allowances and were in accordance to Section 4 (c) (i) of PNGTA Constitution. Section 4 of PNGTA Constitution refers to the objectives of the association, (C) For the betterment of the Social Economic and political interests of the members and (i) To foster and promote good living and working conditions for its members.

PNGTA’s input in Ganim Committee
During 2014, PNGTA made a detailed recommendation proposing remedial measures to address the chronic problems relating to the disbursement of teacher salaries, leave fares and other entitlements.
The recommendations were made amidst continuing delays, discrepancies and anomalies in teachers’ salaries and other entitlements.
The association was at loggerheads with the TSC and NDOE as employer over long delays in resolving these issues.
The appointment of Parliamentary Referral Committee on Education (Ganim Committee) head by educationist and then Member for Wabag, Robert Ganim came as a timely intervention from the National Government.
PNGTA’s recommendations were accepted by the Ganim Committee which was approved by the National Parliament and directed for full implementation.
Among others, PNGTA recommended that:

  1. The NDOE and TSC immediately review the appointment process as a matter of urgency;
  2. Alesco Payroll System be immediately reviewed;
  3. Core roles and responsibilities of the TSC and NDOE reviewed and make TSC as the employer of teachers, manage and operationalise the payments and entitlements;
  4. Urgent capacity building training for the provincial staff in procurement skills, budgeting and familiarisation with Alesco Payroll System and the Teaching Service Salary Fixation Agreement;
  5. Annual conferences be held and attended by all relevant stakeholders to share information, monitor and improve management and disbursement of Teachers entitlements; and
  6. The Salaries and Entitlements Assessments Matrix used as guide for Ganim Committee to direct for further reviews in areas of policies, legislations, and appropriate institutional re-alignment, for implementation by those agencies by the disbursement process and procedures not fully covered by the Ganim Committee.

In highlighting the above proposals, the union was committed to support and strengthen the interest of its members.
In doing so, the PNGTA aspired to exercise its mandate and to utilise its resources to create strong partnership with all stakeholders, to improve the effectiveness of teachers’ disbursement of salaries and other entitlements.

Major Congress resolutions
The 15th triennial congress of PNGTA held from Sept 15-19, 2014 in Madang passed some important resolutions affecting the association and the public education sector.
The resolutions include:

  • PNGTA NMC to negotiate with provincial governments to fund provincial in-service and pre-service training programmes for teachers in their respective provinces;
  • NMC to investigate the awarding of contract a foreign company to trial the tuition fee free commodity component (TFFCC) school materials distribution;
  • Consistent with global campaign on the quality education the Government immediately address issues relating to pupil-teacher ratio and learning materials for the students;
  • Establishing provincial branches of two nearly created provinces, Jiwaka and Hela;
  • A PNGTA Home ownership scheme;
  • Teachers’ leave fare entitlements be paid directly into the teachers’ bank accounts; and
  • Government intervention to exempt taxes on teaching service allowances and Nambawan Super retirement benefits and personal income tax by 10 percent.

International affiliations
Previously, the PNGTA enjoyed mutually beneficial working relations with international and regional organisations the association is affiliated to.
The association was affiliated to Education International, (EI) previously known as International Federation of Free Teachers Union (IFFTU) through the Asia Pacific Regional Office based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
In the region, PNGTA was a member of Council of Pacific Education (COPE) with its office based in Suva, Fiji.
Following the 2013 COPE conference, the PNGTA recognised the need for Association’s participation in the Pacific Region to build democratically strong and independent teacher unions.
PNGTA is affiliated to the PNG Trade Union Congress (TUC), which is the umbrella organisation of all workers unions and associations in PNG.

Quality teachers for and quality education
PNGTA has a major task to remind the Government to sort out all outstanding salaries and other entitlements as per the Salaries Fixation Agreement it has signed with the TSC to provide incentive for teachers to perform effectively to deliver education services.
It is to ensure teachers’ issues are properly addressed so that they perform to the best of their abilities.
The PNGTA’s stance is that teachers play a vital role in implementing government’s policies on education.
As well, teachers’ performance is to determine the end result of achieving PNG’s international commitment such as the Global Education for all (GEA), it signed with 190 other nations in September 2000 in Dakar, Bangladesh.
This commitment directs respective nations to promote quality education for all in all aspect of learning, particularly to ensure all school aged children received at least nine years of formal education.
This is to provide basic education to all children promoting literacy standards world-wide, irrespective of gender, physical disabilities, socio-economic factors etc.
It was envisaged that by 2015, participating nations would eliminate gender disparities in primary education and at all levels.
This means PNG is obliged to:

  • Ensure at least 20 per cen of the national budget and 6 per cent GNI are allocated to education;
  • Introduce policies and practices to achieve gender equality in education;
  • Abolish all fees charges in PNG;
    Include specific measures to improve quality of education such as classes no bigger than 40 children taught professionally trained teachers; and
  • Spending at least 25 per cent of recurrent budgets on non-salary inputs such as teaching and learning materials and enshrining the rights to 9 years of education in national law.

The recent PNG governments have placed education among the top priorities and has set the platform by among others:

  • Implementing the Tuition Fee Free (TFF);
  • Adopting Compulsory education for all school-aged children; and
  • Scrapping the Outcome Based Education (OBE) system and replacing I with Standard Based Education (SBE).

Way forward
The PNGTA general elections are due in the coming months to elect the union executives.
It is incumbent on all relevant individuals and State agencies responsible to ensure all laws, rules and processes are strictly followed.
In recent times the PNGTA has been plagued with controversies that remain unresolved. Every PNGTA financial member must not to allow oneself to be fooled and misled to making wrong decisions.
Each financial member has a duty to elect the right leadership that can work truthfully to resolve all issues and challenges currently faced to better serve union members.
As well, the industrial registrar and the PNG Electoral Commission are duty bound to uphold the rule of law and ensure that the coming elections are conducted following accepted process and practices.

  • Henzy Yakham is a freelance writer. Story ideas can be forwarded on phone number 72159301.