The Fiji Teachers Union is demanding a 30 percent pay rise for all its teachers based on their experience to prevent strike action.
FTU General Secretary, Muniappa Goundar highlighted this during an interview with fijivillage News and said that the motion to increase the salaries of the parliamentarians and Ministers is shocking and a slap on the face of the teachers.
The General secretary says the unprecedented pay rise is a blatant act of self-satisfaction by those in power as they are turning a blind eye to the plight of the teachers in Fiji.
Goundar says the average annual income for educators in Fiji is a meagre $16,700, far below the threshold of $30,000, effectively placing teachers in poverty while the annual average salary for early childhood teachers is $2,990 for half-day teaching.
He says they are asking the Ministry of Education to give early childhood teachers the opportunity to spend 4 hours teaching the children and 4 hours to prepare for the next day.
He says the submission has been given to the Ministry however the Ministry of Finance will need to release the funds to ensure early childhood teachers do not suffer with what they are receiving now. The General Secretary says FTU has consistently advocated for enhanced remuneration and improved working conditions for its members however they have not seen a meaningful pay adjustment in over a decade.
Goundar further says that it is evident that the national interest has succumbed to the personal interest of the policymakers.
He says that a pay rise will prevent teachers from migrating to New Zealand and Australia for better living standards.
