Napwu signs 5% wage deal amid teacher backlash

Teachers across Namibia say they are effectively earning less despite a 5% salary increase, arguing that rising medical aid contributions will absorb the adjustment and that they were never consulted on the deal.

The Namibia Public Workers Union (Napwu) yesterday signed a collective agreement with government and the Namibia National Teachers Union (Nantu), covering the 2026–2028 financial years. Under the deal, employees on Grades 1 to 13 will receive a 5% increase on basic salaries from April 2026, while staff on Grades 14 and 15 will receive a flat N$700 monthly increase.

The government pension fund's Psemas contributions are also set to rise sharply from April.

The current 5% co-payment paid directly to service providers will be scrapped, with the cost instead absorbed through adjusted monthly membership contributions.

Under the standard option, the main member’s contribution will increase from N$1 210 to N$1 240 per month, while contributions for dependants will decrease from N$560 to N$520 per month.

Under the higher option, the main member’s contribution will change from N$2 840 to N$3 500 per month, while dependant contributions will increase from N$120 to N$240 per month.

Educators say the math does not add up and doubt their pay rise will meaningfully ease pressure on their monthly budgets.

An urban teacher, speaking on condition of anonymity, put it bluntly: “It’s a non-issue. It’s a scam,” adding that they were not consulted and “we are unhappy with it”.

Marcellus Haizera, a member of the Namibia National Teachers Union (Nantu) and a teacher at Joy Mungungu Primary School in Kavango East, said the increase offers little real relief for educators and claimed that teachers were not consulted by the union.

“That increase is just coming and going – it goes straight to medical aid,” Haizera told Namibian Sun this week. “We were not consulted by Nantu, and we are really disappointed. Living wages are supposed to improve basic life necessities.”

His concerns are echoed by teachers nationwide, who say the long-awaited adjustment is disappointing.

“As it stands,” Haizera said, “we are not feeling the difference.”

Disappointed nationwide

According to a recent study, the country’s public education system employs around 30 000 teachers, many of whom have in recent years raised concerns over stagnant wages and rising living costs.

A Grade 10 teacher at Atlantic Junior Secondary School said educators were caught off guard by the recent agreement.

"Nantu did not consult us. We were just caught off guard,” the teacher said, adding that expectations were high after years of wage stagnation.

The teacher added that pressure inside overcrowded classrooms is intense.

“We share classes and teach about 50 learners in one class as civil servants, and this is what we get after all these years,” the teacher said.

The Atlantic teacher noted that teacher morale has been under strain in recent years due to workload pressures, large class sizes and rising living costs, both in remote and high-cost urban areas.

At the time of publication, queries sent to Nantu regarding the consultation process and members’ concerns had not been answered.