By Vasinatta Yama – EMTV News, Mt Hagen
Teachers in Mt Hagen, in Western Highlands Province, are calling on the Teaching Services Commission to explain why they are paying stationery shops to get their payslips.
Different stationary shops are charging fees from K10 to K60 for teachers to get their pay slips.
Teachers have also found out on their pay slips, that they have been double-taxed.
Elementary School teachers and teachers from the Technical and Vocational Education and Training or TVET college in Mt Hagen, have also experienced pay cuts in their salaries.
Teachers from Ogelbang Elementary and Ogelbang TVET who we spoke to EMTV News, said for the past five years, they have been paying sstationery shops to get their payslips.
If we multiply K50 for a payslip with 26 fortnights in a year, some teachers might have spent K1300 in a year to get their payslips.
Some of the teachers told EMTV News, that they have given up on buying their payslips.
However, with the recent pay-cut issue, they have had no choice, but to pay for them.
Many of the teachers we spoke to, told EMTV News, they were surprised to see a deduction of K50 on their payslip listed as ‘Recovery Deduction’.
The teachers say they did not get any loans, and they want to know why there is a K50 deduction from their salary.
An elementary school teacher, Naomi Koiyapo, says her gross salary is K500.
After a tax deduction of K100, her contributions to her savings account, the K50 unknown Recovery Deduction and the pay-cut, she is left with nothing to bring back home.
The teachers say they now feel that while they are doing their best to educate children, they will not be looked after by the government.
Some are already planning to retire from the profession earlier than they thought because they are not seeing the value in working.
