Teachers’ pay could be docked as Motshekga, unions tussle

Should teachers be paid their full salaries, despite being at home under lockdown?

This is one of the bones of contention which have been raised at a meeting between numerous unions and the department of basic education on Friday, to discuss a way forward on schools operating during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The department questioned why teachers must be paid full salaries for staying at home, while other public servants were still working.

In the ongoing tug-of-war between the department and unions, Minister Angie Motshekga noted a move to possibly dock teacher pay should schools be closed due to the pandemic, the Sowetan reported.

This was in response to the various unions pleading with the department of education to assess the schools remaining open, due to the rising numbers in positive cases.

The SA Democratic Teachers Union, the SA Teachers Union, the National Teachers Union, National Professional Teachers Organisation of SA and the Professional Educators Union met with the minister to plead for teachers to work from home.

The unions request for teachers to be provided with tools to make it possible to work from home. Teachers will go to school, make copies, submit to heads of departments, and parents are asked to collect and submit work on certain days. They will control the work, including feedback to parents, say unions.

Unions have also proposed for matrics to return to school on August 17, while other grades return on a later date.

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