Unions are falsely claiming that 2,000 teachers have been demoted - Sayed-Khaiyum

Attorney General and Minister for Education, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says unfortunately, unless the trade union heads have a sudden change of heart or are replaced, the reckless misinformation campaign that they are having, is unlikely to stop anytime soon.

In a circular released to all teachers around the country, the Minister for Education says in recent weeks, union bosses and some politicians have been irresponsibly misinforming the teachers to spread fear and confusion.

Sayed-Khaiyum stresses that the unions are falsely claiming that 2,000 teachers have been demoted.

He says the truth is that every single teacher in Fiji has received a pay rise after the Job Evaluation Exercise.

The Minister for Education says some position titles have changed but this is a natural result of any legitimate reform. Sayed-Khaiyum then asks whether as teachers, do they want to chase after a title position or do they want a better salary, more supportive human resourcing, and more training on specific career paths.

He says teacher salaries are up an average of 12% and salaries for school administrator positions are up an average of 28%.

The Minister says for example, the maximum salary for Principals of large schools has increased from $50,700 to $110,400. 

Sayed-Khaiyum says it is also a false claim that school heads and teachers have been fired for no reason.

He stresses that no one has been unjustly fired.

He further says that teachers have only been disciplined or fired for sexual harassment, enforcing corporal punishment, or legitimate serious breaches of the Code Of Conduct.

He says there are more women and young people teaching and assuming leadership positions than ever before.

The Minister for Education further says that it is a false claim being made by the unions that with compassionate leave taken off the table, and the introduction of the student free days, teachers will now have fewer paid leave days than before.

Sayed-Khaiyum says with the 2018/2019 National Budget, teachers will have a higher number of paid leave days during the school year, inclusive of 21 days sick leave, 3 bereavement days, 5 family care leave days, regular school holidays, expanded maternity leave of 98 working days and the newly introduced paternity leave of 5 days.

He also says that teachers also have dedicated time set aside for their own professional development counted as paid work time.

Sayed-Khaiyum also says that there is a false claim that school heads are being treated unfairly as the unions are saying that the school heads don’t need modern skills like school management and computer literacy to be effective.

He says the truth is that the reforms will require more from the school heads as there is no doubt about that and their salaries have been significantly increased to reflect those requirements.

The Minister says all around the world, it’s becoming clear that computer literacy is essential for students to keep pace in a modern economy.

Sayed-Khaiyum asks how can we expect the school to prepare Fijian students if school heads can’t use a computer themselves.

He says if the union bosses had their way, there would be zero computer literacy requirement or training for Fijian teachers.

When questioned by Fijivillage on whether they are involved in a reckless misinformation campaign, Fiji Teachers Union General Secretary, Agni Deo Singh says they are not making false statements.

Singh says they are disturbed the Minister has gone directly to the teachers instead of dealing with the unions as this is a fundamental rule of collective bargaining.