Teacher pursuing finish pay

A retired 59-year-old female teacher has spent the past two years chasing after the Education Department for her finish pay.
Anna Saweni had been teaching for 32 years.
In 2021, after confirming with the Madang education board that her file had been sent to Port Moresby for processing, Saweni got on the plane and travelled to Port Moresby.
She had been waiting since then without anyone at the national office shedding light on her predicament.
Saweni confirmed that she had received her retirement benefits from Nambawan Super Limited soon after she retired in 2020.
“Since Oct 2021, no money has been paid to my account, so I decided to come to Port Moresby and check the salary office at headquarters myself.
“To my surprise, I was told that there was no salary file history under my name.
“The officers told me that I could not be paid since my file could not be found,” she said.
However, Saweni said she was told a temporary file would be created for her.
But, she was not sure if that had been done.
“I am not happy with the performances of the salary officers in charge.
“After so many years of serving the department, I came only to find out that my files cannot be located,” she said.
“Now, who will find my files? Who will be blamed? What are the officers doing? Are they working?
“I believe and hope that Port Moresby is where the headquarter is and that all our queries are supposed to be addressed as soon as possible.”
She said this was always the same every year for a good number of teachers.
Every Tuesday and Thursday of every week, Saweni spent K8 on transport to check at the education salaries office, all to no avail so far.
Saweni was not in a position to go home and return later, considering the hefty airfares.
She appealed to the education officers to fast-track her entitlements so she could return home.