PM orders urgent action on unpaid teachers

Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has directed urgent Government action to ensure teachers affected by salary issues receive their outstanding pay without further delay.

In a statement this afternoon, Mr Rabuka said the Ministry of Finance would assist in resolving the matter and ensuring affected teachers received the salaries owed to them.

“The immediate priority is for all affected teachers to receive what is owed to them as quickly as possible,” he said.

The Prime Minister said the situation should never have escalated to the point where teachers were left uncertain about when they would be paid.

"Whatever administrative or procedural issues may have arisen, teachers who have reported for duty and carried out their responsibilities should not be left uncertain about when they will be paid."

Mr Rabuka said he had been kept informed of the issue and expected the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education to work together to address outstanding concerns.

"I have been kept informed of the situation. The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Education should be working together to resolve this matter, and I expect the outstanding issues affecting our teachers to be addressed without further delay."

He described teachers as being among the principal guardians and stewards of Fiji’s young people, entrusted daily with educating and guiding the nation’s children.

“We must therefore ensure that they are treated with the dignity, fairness and respect that their service deserves,” he said.

Fijian Teachers Association general secretary Paula Manumanunitoga said the permanent secretary for Education had confirmed that salary payments for the affected teachers had been processed.

The intervention follows public concern over more than 100 teachers whose salaries were stopped last Thursday, sparking widespread debate and community fundraising efforts to assist those affected.