This question concerns my Department's decision not to pay the revised scales of the principals' and deputy principals' allowances to teachers who retired prior to 1 September 1996.
My Department's position in regard to the payment of these allowances is based on the advice of the Department of Finance regarding Government decisions taken over the years regarding public service pensions and on the facts regarding my Department's longstanding practice.
A teacher's pay is made up of incremental salary and of a range of allowances. It is my Department's longstanding practice that the benefit of an increase in incremental salary will be reflected in the pensions of all retired teachers and that the benefit of an allowance will be reflected in the pensions of retired teachers who held that allowance in pay.