Teachers Working Without Receiving Salaries

We also heard from two teachers whose names have been removed from the government’s payroll system. Kimberly Lopez explained that she has not been paid by the government for the last five months. Janelle Cacho says she left the classroom in January after her license expired because she did not meet her one hundred and twenty CPD hours. And even though she returned to the classroom in June, she did not receive her salary until August. Now, she is still waiting for her September pay, while her home is facing foreclosure, as a single mom.

 

Kimberly Lopez, Primary School Teacher

“First of all, I want to say I haven’t been paid for five months. So, I haven’t been paid since May.  Way before all of this happened, before my license got expired, I was sending in emails to verify how many CPD hours I had.  I was waiting, waiting, when I finally got they told me that I only had thirty-two hours. Now you tell me, I’ve been teaching for years. Always doing workshops. How will I only have, have thirty-two hours? So I went into the system, find all my documents, like how my colleagues said. I went and I dig out on some boxes. I found my certificates. I send it in. And that’s how I ended up getting my hours. I had to be behind them until I finally got my license all the way in July.  So until just July I got my license. So, since I got my license, I thought I’m going to get my salary back. When I waited, went back into the classroom, I still haven’t received any salary. So all these months I’m still waiting, no salary.”

 

Janelle Cacho, Primary School Teacher

“I did not get my salary until August, ending of August. Now bear in mind school reopens in September. And I was there, you know, trying to figure out how am I going to get my class ready. But I still managed to do something, you know, during that time there. But I received my salary until, until August. And of course, you know, it’s back pay, retro. So it was fully taxed, you know. So it’s like I was receiving just a pittance of what I should have had. So, for those months I have been out of a salary and  it has caused just major distress and trauma and inconveniences  on my part. You know, you have to function as a teacher but then, you know, as a person, how are you supposed to be functioning as a person to do your job if all of these things are hindering you. So it has been a really, really major setback and inconvenience for me over the past few months, you know, and I’m glad I’m still here, you know, but I think the ministry has to do better. There’s something happening there. I did not receive my salary for this month. I received in August. So I was surprised that I did not receive September.”