Teachers want action on late leave entitlements

THE education department has been urged to address the continuous delays in teachers’ leave entitlements.
Teachers Association national vice-president Kay Kila Avei said yesterday Christmas was only days away but teachers were still chasing after leave entitlements either at the education headquarters or with travel agents.
“This treatment of our professional teachers must stop as it is inhuman and unwarranted. After all, it is their entitlement,” she said.
“If the teachers’ leave entitlements with the Education Department are in chaos, what chances have we in the distribution of free education in the 2012 school year to all schools nationwide?”
Avei said the Education Department was by far the largest department and there should be no excuse for the yearly delay to teachers’ leave fares.
The accounts section should be well-equipped with modern equipment to deal with the leave fare entitlements effectively.
Avei said teachers were the implementers of education policies and deserved better treatment and respect.
“Their right to take leave during holidays are denied annually. Their bookings to go to their provinces or villages are cancelled due to these continuous delays.
“Travel agents are having a field day with our teachers’ entitlements,” she said.
Avei said there were “unnecessary” deductions from the entitlements by travel agents.
Giving an example, she said teachers from Central were being charged 25% for travel expenses by travel agents, saying that was “a total rip-off”.
Avei said school teachers were professionals and must be treated fairly or the 2012 school year would be disrupted by late resumption due to late payment of their leave fares.
“I call for the abolition of these illegal cuts made by travel agents.
“I call on the Education Department to do an immediate survey to see what kind of system will work effectively,” she said.
Avei said the Education Department had scrapped lump sum payments during the holidays, “leaving the only option for their leave entitlements to be put into their last pay of the school year”.
She said this would greatly help in avoiding all these delays and mistreatment of teachers for
their entitlement.
“The department holds a database of teachers nationwide which should be used to process as a budget item annually.
“So what is the problem here?”
Avei called on the department secretary to restructure the travel division within the payroll and accounts section to accommodate the leave entitlements of teachers and department workers to avoid delays.
“Finally, I would like to call on all teachers to practise transparency in their applications this year,” she said.