The teacher pay increase of seven to 10 percent is based on the financial affordability of the Ministry of Education.
Minister for Education Aseri Radrodro explained this when asked about teachers’ reactions to their earlier 30 percent pay increase proposal.
Mr. Radrodro stated that the pay increase was implemented to boost teacher morale and will take effect starting today.
“We must thank the Coalition Government and the Ministry of Finance for the salary increase,” he said.
The increase would also accommodate teachers who had earlier missed out on the regularisation of the pay process.
Mr. Radrodro mentioned that they had received positive feedback from the Fijian Teachers Union and Fiji Teachers Union, despite not meeting the initial 30 percent request.
He urged for common sense to prevail, noting that pay increases are dependent on the Government’s ability to allocate additional funds from its revenue to support the increase for teachers.
“We are paying an increase based on the capacity we have to pay,” he said.
However, Mr. Radrodro acknowledged the genuine call by the teacher unions for the improvement of teacher welfare, especially those in rural areas.
“We can discuss and review in some other way where teacher welfare can be looked at,” he added.
Teachers must have a conducive environment to teach and reside during their term of teaching in an area.