SNAT’S DELIBERATE SILENCE

Sir,

Please allow me to expose SNAT’s deliberate silence pertaining the welfare of contract teachers in Swaziland. Despite doing the same work and having the same qualifications as teachers on permanent employment, contract teachers are the most exploited professionals, with no one taking a keen interest in their affairs, yet SNAT claims to be fighting for the welfare of ‘all’ teachers.

What a fallacy and veiled lie this is! Among the many things that the union fights for teachers are the following: (1) COLA, (2) housing allowance, (3) home to duty travelling allowance, (4) medical aid, (5) HoD allowance, (6) notch increments, etc. But do not be fooled. Apart from COLA, which affects all civil servants, SNAT engages government on these issues not for all teachers but only for permanent teachers. The exploited contract teachers are excluded from all known allowances and benefits, as if their contribution to the educational system of the country is different from that of permanent teachers.

SNAT, a body that should have stood up to prevent this evil injustice from happening in the first place, has turned a blind eye and deaf ears on the plight of these hard-working but highly exploited teachers.

The Ministry of Education, through TSC, stopped notch increments for contract teachers at the beginning of this decade but left it to be enjoyed by permanent teachers only, as if these teachers teach a special group of learners different from those taught by contract teachers. Year after year contract teachers are stuck at notch 1, while they can only envy their colleagues with the same qualifications and doing the same job but on permanent employment; have their salaries doubled and tripled in notch increments each year.

The ministry’s removal of notches from this voiceless group of teachers was to save some money so that officials in the ministry could have a floating fund for parties, hotel bills, luncheons and beer, including allowances during their many workshops. But this is done at the expense of professional contract teachers and their families and SNAT knows about this thing. But because its agenda is only for a chosen group of teachers, it has decided to ignore and pretend the injustice does not exist.

Government awards travelling allowances to only teachers on permanent employment and has denied contract teachers this well deserved allowance, as if the earlier group is the only one that incurs expenses when travelling from home to work. SNAT knows all about this. Why is it silent?

A housing allowance is another benefit only awarded to this selected group of teachers (permanent) and those on contract (exploited teachers) are denied, as if they live in trees and caves with their families where they don’t pay rent, and only permanent teachers live in houses and apartments.

You might even think the input of these voiceless exploited teachers to the educational system does not matter. SNAT knows about this injustice too but we have never heard it raise its voice to question government or the Ministry of Education. Who will stand up for the exploited contract teachers if not SNAT? SNAT should wake up from its deep slumber and start questioning government on these issues and many others, such as the hardship allowance and investigate why some of these incentives were removed from contract teachers in early 2000. It does not make sense to have two groups of professional teachers who have the same qualifications and doing the same job but rewarded differently. Justice delayed is justice denied.

Exploited teacher

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: