What's good for the goose suits gander too
I am writing in response to the news (South China Morning Post, October 22) regarding the government's decision to increase the housing allowance and gratuity of the NETs. I am happy for all the NETs who have been working hard, away from home, to get a decent package.
It seems that government has finally realised that the cost of living is going up and the allowances have to be increased. I must also acknowledge the effort of the Native English Speaking Teachers Association (Nesta) in initiating and leading the collective bargaining for the extra monies.
I believe that the government's decision must also have been influenced by the increased number of NETs leaving and thereby facing difficulty to fulfill the quota to provide NETs to all those schools that have joined the scheme. Even to-date there are some schools still waiting for their NETs.
Government has over the past few years been cutting the salaries of all teachers. I would like to ask the government, do they think the local teachers need houses to live in and is it the rent of the NETs' houses alone that have gone up (keeping in mind that an average local teacher has to pay the rent from their salaries which are often less than the NETs' salaries)?
I would also like to point out the silent role of the Professional Teachers' Union which is hardly any more than toeing the government's line and running supermarkets. They either have no experience in corporate negotiations or are incapable of doing such. They should get in touch with Nesta asap to learn few skills. As for the government, is it waiting for a shortage of teachers to occur (or some industrial action) before it starts to think locals are also living in Hong Kong and not Shenzhen?
