TEACHERS shouldn’t be lumped together with other civil servants when it comes to pay.
Fijian Teachers Association (FTA) general secretary Paula Manumanunitoga, made this statement after FTA president Netani Druavesi expressed dissatisfaction with Government for not addressing the 30 percent salary increase the union has been advocating for over two decades.
Mr Druavesi said the Government’s current development priorities had overlooked the issue, adding it was vital to address pay disparities for teachers.
Mr Manumanunitoga said teachers should not be grouped with the wider civil service when it came to pay considerations.
“We always advocate for teachers not to be included in a big group of civil service,” he said.
“Because, we teachers, we are a different kettle of fish. We deal with human lives.
“We teach human beings. We teach values, character, academics and everything else.”
He argued that while civil servants worked from desks and computers, teachers faced much tougher conditions, particularly those deployed to remote islands.
“So when they give the whole civil service a pay rise, why can’t they just pay attention to the struggles of the teachers, who are serving out there?
“They travel on boats to remote islands, far out from the mainland.
“And then they go there and suffer in a house, pathetic conditions. But they sacrifice.”
He criticised the Government for not acknowledging the distinct role and greater demands placed on teachers compared with “ordinary civil servants”.