Maputo, 5 Jan (AIM) – The Mozambican Ministry of Economy and Finance has warned that it will only make overtime payments to teachers, if it can be proved that the extra hours claimed were really worked.
A statement issued by the Ministry on Thursday said it is working with the Ministry of Education to check the overtime worked by teachers in the country’s state-owned schools.
The statement claimed that “irregularities” have been found, including the presentation of demands for overtime pay without evidence that the teachers concerned really did work the overtime. There were some claims for overtime by teachers who had not worked the minimum hours necessary to receive their normal wages. In other cases, teachers claimed for overtime without clocking in to prove when they entered and left the school, or claimed they worked overtime on Sundays.
The total overtime pay claimed by teachers for the months of October and November 2022 was over 236 million meticais (about 3.7 million US dollars, at the current exchange rate).
Of this sum, the Ministry of Economy and Finance had validated 158.2 million meticais owing to 5,404 teachers. So far, 74.1 million meticais have been paid to 2.474 teachers in 137 schools in Maputo, Matola, Quelimane and Nampula.
The Ministry said that left slightly more than 87 million meticais to be paid to 2,930 teachers.
The statement blamed the implementation of the new Single Wage Scale (TSU) in the public administration for the failure to process in due time the overtime payments for October and November 2022. The old procedures for dealing with overtime were replaced by a system of validation by the General Inspectorate of Finance.
“Checking the information concerning overtime worked by State employees in the other schools, will resume this month, including the debt referring to the 2023 financial year”, said the Ministry statement.
Teachers are insisting that they are owed 13 months of overtime in arrears, and some are threatening to boycott the official opening of the 2024 school year on 31 January, unless they are paid by then.
The overtime problem is less critical in the Health Ministry. The Ministry of Economy and Finance said that 67.8 million meticais in overtime pay had been claimed for the 2022 financial year, for 6,358 health workers. These claims had all been validated and paid.
For the 2003 financial year, validation is continuing, and so far about 30 million meticais has been paid to 300 health professionals.
Nonetheless, health workers at the central and general hospitals in Quelimane, capital of Zambezia province, complain that their shift allowances have not been paid. The Ministry statement said these payments have been processed and will shortly be paid.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance added that, throughout the public administration, the government has prioritised payment of the basic wage, with overtime pay conditional on verification of the hours worked.
(AIM)
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