Teachers unions call pay raise offer unreasonable

Fiji Teachers Union General Secretary Muniappa Goundar, Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad and FTA General Secretary Paula Manumanunitoga.

The Ministry of Finance had proposed an increase of about seven percent in teachers’ salaries, but agreements with the Fiji Teachers’ Union and the Fiji Teachers’ Association were inconclusive.

Both teachers unions called the offer ridiculous, saying teachers have not received raises amid the high cost of living for the past 17 years.

Due to their dissatisfaction with the outcome of their meeting with the Ministry of Finance, the teachers’ unions will continue to hold a secret vote for a possible strike.

FTA general secretary Paula Manumanunitoga says the government must listen to their plight if it is to avoid strike action.

“For example, he proposed a 5% increase. He was talking about an increase of 4, 5, 6%. Now, what difference would that make to a person’s salary? Just a few dollars? Probably $10 tops. It’s ridiculous. And we will not accept that. »

Manumanunitoga says if the government can allocate funds for increasing the salaries of parliamentarians to the tune of $8.1 million, then it should also have the funds to meet their demand.

These sentiments were echoed by Fiji Teachers Union general secretary Muniappa Goundar, saying a salary increase would help address the exodus of teachers.

“I believe the state needs to ensure that we are able to retain teachers, otherwise a day will come when we will have students in classrooms without teachers. The latest data I received on Friday from the Ministry of Education regarding teacher resignations and migrations stands at almost 100 per month.

In response, Finance Minister Prof Biman Prasad said the government would carefully consider any allocation to increase civil service salaries.

Prof Prasad says he is still determining the amount that will be announced in the next budget.

As negotiations on this matter continue, the FTU and FTA are awaiting approval of their secret ballot by the Department of Employment and are confident they will secure a majority vote to take industrial action.