Teachers in Chipata owed 22.6 million Kwacha in various allowances.

The Zambia Union of Teachers ZNUT has expressed shock with the huge allowances being owed to the teachers in Chipata.
Deputy General Secretary for Finance, David Banda, says that ZNUT has discovered that in Chipata alone, government owes teachers 22. 6 million Kwacha, which was verified by the office of the District Education Board Secretary.
Mr. Banda says that the owed allowances include, settling in, repatriation and funeral grant.
Mr. Banda has appealed to government to quickly pay the teachers who are owed.
And Mr. Banda says that government should revise its decision over the wage freeze because the economy is changing every day.
He says that teachers are affected by the current wage freeze because prices for most basic commodities have gone up.
Mr. Banda says that the union is still negotiating the matter with government and urged teachers to be calm as they wait for the outcome of the negotiations.
Meanwhile, ZNUT Director of Public Relations and International Affairs, Jose Phiri has urged parents and other stakeholders to work hand in hand with the teachers in safeguarding their children to avoid early pregnancies.
Mr. Phiri noted that the high cases of pregnancies in schools are of great concern and should not be left to teachers alone.
And Mr. Phiri alleged that there are some head teachers who have been forcing teachers to join union groups and pay affiliation fee, which should not be the case.
He says that the Ministry of Education should investigate such cases and charge all head teachers involved.