Teachers are concerned about delayed Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF) deductions and salary upgrade payments. This, according to teacher union representatives.
Opposition Member of Parliament Premila Kumar has also voiced similar concerns, calling on the Ministry of Education to “come clean”.
She said teachers were also frustrated that their pay slips were not accessible on the Fiji Education Management Information System (FEMIS) and claimed the last pay slip was issued on January 27, 2025.
“In addition, numerous teachers have upgraded their qualifications and are still waiting for their salary upgrades,” she said.
“The Minister for Education must urgently explain why FNPF deductions for the last two months have not been deposited.
“Why are pay slips not available on FEMIS? Why were new graduate teachers not paid for the last eight weeks? Why salary upgrades are delayed, and why affected teachers are being ignored.”
The Education Ministry did not respond to queries sent last week on the new graduate pay, and the minister has also not responded to questions on the concerns raised by Ms Kumar.
Fijian Teachers Association general secretary Paula Manumanunitoga said they had discussed the issue of pay increments and salary upgrades with the minister and the ministry’s human resources department last week.
He said the correct list of teachers entitled to that increment was being compiled.
“It’s a bit late in being paid out in the last two pays unfortunately, but we are urging teachers to hold on as it will eventually come.”
He said concerns about FNPF deductions were not lodged with the FTA but he had heard about it on social media.
Mr Manumanunitoga also said the FEMIS issue was raised with him and teachers were disappointed.
“It’s almost the end of Term One but it still hasn’t been solved. We are calling for it to be addressed as quickly as possible.”
Meanwhile, Fiji Teachers Union general secretary Muniappa Goundar said they had received concerns about the FNPF deductions, and the union had written to the ministry and met senior officials last week.
He said they were optimistic this would be resolved soon.
Mr Goundar also said they were negotiating salary upgrades for teachers who had undertaken Secondary Teacher Training Certificate (STTC), Diploma in Tertiary Teaching (DDT) and International Diploma in Tertiary Teaching (IDTT).
He said teachers, who had undertaken these programs, were only paid until mid-September in 2021, after which it was derecognised, and teachers were not paid graduate salaries but moved to Band D or Band E.
