Jonglei teachers have issued an ultimatum to the state government to pay their salary arrears for 2022.
The teachers through the union, Jonglei Teachers Union, claimed they had not received salaries for November and December, an arrears they want settled lest they take industrial action.
“We demand our rights; the chapter one salary payment in the Civil Service Act 2011 in accordance with Chapters VII and Chapter, as well as the Bill of Rights.”
“We teachers in the Republic of South Sudan have no physical contact with any government officials. However, we can’t accept these errors if we have to work in such horrible circumstances,” the statement read.
They have expressed that the matter is “a serious concern for JSTU,” stressing that the delay in payment subjects the teachers to suffering. “We have nothing to feed families, no money to pay our children’s school fees, and many essential needs.”
Meanwhile, in his speech to mark the end of 2022, President Salva Kiir stated that the ministry of finance and planning was closing the year without any arrears owed to public servants except for the diplomatic missions, whose arrears are yet to be cleared, noting that “this is an important step in the right direction.”
