Rejecting the new pay and grading structure that was recently approved by the cabinet, teachers across the country have vowed to protest if the government doesn't increase their salaries.

Last month, the Personnel Management Office announced: "We are happy to report that the cabinet has approved the implementation of the new pay and grading structure with effect from 1st July 2022."

But teachers are complaining that the new pay and grading structure is discriminatory. They want the government to bring their salaries and pensions in line with other civil servants.

One Musa Susso argued: "We cannot be relegated to the backseat! HTC, Public Health, and SRN are of the same status in the current pay scale. They all start at grade 7.1. PTC starts at 6.1. Untrained graduate teachers start at grade 8.1while trained graduate teachers start at 8.5. However, the proposed pay system puts Public Health and SRN on a higher pay scale than their counterpart HTCs!"

He continued: "Even SEN is put on a better scale than PTC who in the current scale are paid more! Why do they relegate us? Government must remember that we constitute half of the working force (civil servants) in this country! Yes I mean half of the civil servants in this country are teachers!"

In a letter to the Gambia Teachers' Union, Musa and his colleagues vowed to protest if teachers are "not placed equally with other civil servants".

"Teachers are the creators of all other jobs, therefore, teachers must be decently rewarded, if not above others, not less than others," they argued.