Teachers upset over handling of leave entitlements

By PHOEBE GWANGILO
THREE senior teachers are disappointed with how their leave fares entitlements were handled by the authorities.
Papua New Guinea Education Institute lecturer William Bare, Tokarara Secondary School teacher Simon Yaa and Gerehu Secondary School teacher John Kambe said they, like other teachers, were frustrated with the cuts to their entitlements.
“In 2015, I was given only K2000 from the K10,000 I applied for to travel to Simbu with my family,” Bare said. This year I applied for K8000 and I don’t want any cuts.”
Kambe said in 2015, he was only paid K9000 of the K13,000 he had applied for to travel with his family to Southern Highlands.
“Leave fares are our hard-earned entitlement and we deserve full payments,” he said.
He said they had submitted all the relevant documents to support their applications including birth certificates as proof of dependency.
The three agreed that cuts in leave fares had been ongoing since 2011. They said they wanted their unpaid leaves fares to be reimbursed.
“We are calling on the Education Minister to respond to this and tell us who is directing the cut.”