BUT fight continues

The Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) continues to pursue civil action against the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation for the docking of teachers pay for attending Union meetings in 2016.

However, there has been no progress to date.

“Today is a week short of two years that we have been fighting this matter and each time the matter Pedro Shepherd et al is set for hearing, the case is adjourned either because the judge is acting and only doing case management,” said BUT President, Pedro Shepherd.

“To date, we have had four adjournments and the next date set is May 13, 2018,” he revealed.

Shepherd, who was at the time addressing yesterday’s 44th Annual General Conference of the BUT held at Almond Bay Conference Centre under the theme “Health and Safety in Schools: A Shared Responsibility”, also took the opportunity to dispel the myth that the Union did nothing about salaries for its members.

He recalled that the Executive Committee of the BUT took “a bashing” over the last year because teachers were denied a salary increase or a one-off payment as did all public officers.
“The Executive Committee of the Barbados Union of Teachers commissioned a study on the Barbados economy and in that study, we were told that the Government had the ability to pay a small increase. As a member of the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB) we shared it with them and it was accepted as the basis on which the CTUSAB would negotiate salaries on our behalf,” he told the membership.

“Unfortunately, each time CTUSAB went before the government’s negotiation team they were proposing zero per cent. At our last meeting in September of 2017 the Congress asked government to come with a reasonable figure at the next salaries meeting. They have not had one since. However, in December of 2017 the NUPW had a meeting and some scenarios were put forward by both government and the NUPW for a one-off payment. That is now history.

“It must be noted that the Barbados Union of Teachers negotiates salaries under the umbrella of the Congress. Both the General Secretary and myself serve on the Congress and were present for the salaries meetings. Our position is and has always been that government needed to give a salary increase no matter how small. The offer of $49 million as a one off never came formally to BUT through its bargaining agent CTUSAB,” Shepherd further explained. (TL)