Over 4,000 HODs in Huge Back Pays
Monkagedi Gaothobogwe | Monday March 13, 2017 18:00
The implementation of the policy in 2013 had lumped the senior teachers with responsibilities at the same scale as their juniors at C1, whereas their counterparts at secondary schools had been remunerated at D4 salary scale.
On Friday, Lobatse High Court’s Justice Godfrey Ntlhomiwa ended the long-dragging discrepancies and granted the primary school teachers their wishes, and ruled that the primary schools’ senior teachers with responsibilities be copensated accordingly and retrospectively, from the date of the implementation of the LOO policy in July 2013.
About 3,000 teachers at primary schools are estimated to hold the positions of senior teachers with responsibilities.
The High Court ruling will see the winning teachers’ salaries increased from about P14,000 to P16,000 a month.
It is not only the senior teachers with responsibilities who will be due the windfall as the High Court ruling will have a multiplier effect that shall see the new senior teachers with responsibilities pushing their supervisors, the Heads of Departments (HODs) to D3 scale, and pushing the deputy school heads to move from D3 to D2, with the deputies pushing their school heads to move from D2 to D1 scale.
At a joint press conference called by BOSETU and BTU at Cresta on Friday, the BTU and BOFEPUSU president Johannes Tshukudu hailed the victory and praised the collaborative efforts of the two teachers Unions, saying the victory underlined the importance of unity of the teachers’ Unions in the midst of suppressive laws against their members.
The BTU Secretary General, Agang Gabana said the victory came at a time when some members were about to give up on the trade Unions because of the long dragging unresolved matter of the LOO at Primary schools. The teachers Unions had been pursuing the matter for the last three years, but the Ministry of Education was unrelenting, and eventually decided that the primary schools senior teachers with responsibilities would only move to D4 upon passing a job-evaluation exercise, something that was also challenged by the Unions as part of this case.
According to BOSETU Secretary, General Tobokani Rari, who is also the secretary General of BOFEPUSU, they have always maintained that this issue was a straight forward matter.
“We have constantly and consistently advised during the LOO engagement in 2012 and post the implementation period in our various engagements with the Ministry” he said.
“Government’s conduct is reminiscent of a Government that refuses to engage meaningfully with an open mind, but which rather prefers to take matters that are indefensible to Court. We are however pleased with the outcome of the Court case and would like to assure all educators that we remain steadfast in our resolve to fight for their interests and defend their rights”.
Synopisis Of The Court Case 2012
Government yields to the pressure of trade Unions to unravel the levels of operation that was only peculiar to education and schools in particular.
The Levels of Operation (LOO) meant that the posts of responsibility were pitched at different scales for the mere reason of where teachers were posted.
l When the LOO were finally unravelled, however, the senior teachers at junior schools were catapulted to D4 salary scale, while the Senior Teachers with responsibility at Primary Schools were pitched at C1 salary scale.
l The teacher Unions raise their concerns regarding the issue of the senior teachers with responsibilities at primary schools being pitched at C1 salary scale, contrary to the trend that all other senior teachers (junior and senior) are at D4.
2013
l The LOO take effect amid complaints from Unions.
2013-2015
l Trade Unions, BOSETU & BTU, engage the Education ministry over this obviously unfair decision.
l Government would not budge and instead, wanted to resort to subjecting duties and responsibilities of senior teachers at primary schools to a job – evaluation process as a pre – condition of rectifying the anomaly.
l (BOSETU and BTU) reject the idea and approach the Courts to defend the rights of their members.
BOSETU and BTU approach the High Court seeking the following orders:
l That the Court should review and set aside Government’s decision to want to subject senior teachers with responsibilities at primary schools to a job-evaluation assessment prior rectifying the LOO anomaly.
l That court should declare that the affected teachers are entitled to rectification of the anomaly without being subjected to a job-evaluation exercise.
l That the rectification of the LOO anomaly as it relates to senior teachers with responsibilities be corrected and effected retrospectively from 2013.
l That the affected teachers, (senior teachers with responsibilities at primary schools) be paid back their arrears as from July 2013.
l And, that Government should bear the costs of the suit in case they oppose.
l March 10, 2017: The case concluded before Justice Nthomiwa and judgement delivered; all orders as prayed for were granted by the Court in the judgement.
l The effect of this judgement is that the Senior teachers with responsibilities at primary schools would have to be moved to D4 salary scale, triggering an exodus of HODs to D3 salary scale, the HODs as a consequence would push the Deputy School Heads to D2 salary scale and School Heads to D1.