Teacher pay hiccup exposes HR flaws, says affected teacher

The payment delay of 114 teachers following a salary hiccup exposed flaws in the Ministry of Education’s contract and human resources processes.

Teacher Mary Blakelock made the comment, after finally receiving her pay on Monday, said she was prepared to work without pay because her priority was reaching her island workplace and continuing to teach children.

Last week 134 teachers did not receive their salaries because their permanent appointment documents had not been returned and processed.

Ms Blakelock admits that her salary was important to support her two children in Suva, who are both first-year students at Fiji National University.

Ms Blakelock confirmed receiving her salary plus her Term Two location allowance.

The ministry HR team had worked through Sunday night and into Monday to prepare, send and process contracts.

Unions and online advocates teamed up to create the urgency that helped speed up the pay process.

Ms Blakelock highlighted that teachers should receive timely responses to enquiries and should not be repeatedly asked to submit contracts that have already been signed and uploaded through the FEMIS Dropbox system.

“Sending in contracts for teachers in remote island communities is difficult, the repeated processes are challenging because unreliable internet connectivity could delay or prevent emails and attachments from being sent.

“We have work to do and kids to teach,” Ms Blakelock said. She called for greater efficiency within human resources.

She thanked Eliki Dakuitoga, Apisai Salaba, Bis Moce, Lesi Vanuavou, John Mow and others for advocating for the affected teachers.

While the affected teachers have now received their pay, Ms Blakelock’s experience raises a wider question for the ministry: Will the lessons from the payment delay lead to lasting improvements in contract processing, communication and human resources efficiency?