Teachers decry silent wage freeze

By MUKWIMA CHILALA

THE National Union of Technical Education Lecturers and Allied Workers (NUTELAW) has raised concerns over what it has described as a silent wage freeze that is slowly eroding morale in the TEVET sector.

NUTELAW president Emmanuel Mwila says while Government has made strides in revamping infrastructure and increasing funding through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), the benefits are not being felt by the very people driving the change – the lecturers.

Mr. Mwila says the implementation of the Emoluments Commission Act No. 1 of 2022 has effectively placed a lid on salary negotiations and condemned TEVET educators to economic stagnation.

He says some degree-holding lecturers with up to 20 years’ experience are earning as little as K6, 000  a situation he describes as “economic violence.”

“The Act as turned us into spectators in our own careers. There are no salary adjustments, no negotiations, just silence,” he said.

Meanwhile, we’re being told to spearhead the skills revolution,”

He says the current wage structure not only demoralises experienced staff but also risks pushing the sector into a crisis of retention and motivation.

And Mr. Mwila has called on President Hakainde Hichilema and the Ministry of Technology and Science to immediately settle outstanding bursary arrears owed to TEVET institutions, saying the debt is choking operations and making it harder to improve staff welfare.

He said while centres are now booming with activity and enrolment is rising, staff conditions remain stuck in the past, a contradiction that could unravel the progress made so far.