Pressure forces Dar es Salaam to pay teachers’ arrears

Pressure forces Dar es Salaam to pay teachers’ arrears

Saturday, 21 January 2012 12:10 Kenan Kalagho

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA- The Tanzanian Teachers Union has called off a national strike that was supposed to be staged countrywide this month before schools open, following the release Tshs 22.5 billion (US$7.8 million) to settle the teacher's overdue arrears.
Speaking with the East African Business Week in Dar es Salaam the President of the Tanzania Teachers Union, Gratian Mukoba, said that the association has decided to call off the strike after seeing the Government's good will of listening to the teachers' demands.
Mukoba said that the Teachers Union had received from the Government the relevant documents for the payment of the amount last week the amount which will be channeled through the districts councils and the Ministry of Education and Vocation and Training not later than January 15.
The Teachers Union has previously threatened to stage a national strike while if the Government refused to listen to their demands by the start of this year's scholl term.
However, Mukoba said despite the promised payments being released, the teachers are still asking the Government to pay the remaining arrears that amounted to Tshs 32 billion ($20 MILLION) by end of last year.
"The Government had already disbursed Tshs 2 billion ($1.25 million) by December last year, and if it decided to pay us at monthly pace it will take 15 months for the Government to clear our bill, this practice is unwelcomed by teachers," Mukoba insisted.