Teachers plan to call off strike in Jonglei
November 16, 2014 (BOR) – Hundreds of government teachers in the Jonglei state capital, Bor, plan to review their position on current strike, as well as the positive steps taken by the government.
It is nearly three weeks since the teachers for both primary and secondary schools went on strike to demand full housing allowances.
However, one senior official said the main complaint of teachers remained the low rate of pay and lack of opportunities of promotion.
He told Sudan Tribune that in championing teacher allowances the committee had failed to draw attention to the real issue of poor salaries and conditions.
“We are planning to call off the strike tomorrow (Monday) afternoon. This is partly because the government has already addressed the issue of allowances by 50 per cent,” the senior official said on condition of anonymity.
David Deng, the secretary of the teachers committee, confirmed a decision on the continuation of strike action would be made following a planned meeting on Monday.
“We are going to discuss the steps the government is taking to solve our problems, and if the teachers general assembly suggests calling off the strike based on that so be it,” said Deng.
In Jonglei state some graduates are teaching in both primary and secondary schools, earning between 362 South Sudanese pounds (SSP) for grade 12 and up to 1,000 SSP for grade 10.
Most teachers said they had been working in the same position for up to nine years without receiving a promotion to higher grades or incremental increases in salary.
The majority were appointed in their current grades based on their qualifications and positions at the time.
More than 1,000 primary school candidates sat their final exams last week, with some teachers attending to assist pupils.
Following the passing of the state budget last week, the government pledged to pay 50 per cent of teachers’ housing allowances from November, while July to October would paid as arrears.
Jonglei’s minister of finance, Dhano Obongo, said moves by teachers to end the strike was good news for schools and pupils.
(ST)