Teachers told to demand their due

President of the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT), Pedro Shepherd, is calling on teachers to stop being afraid to ask for what is rightfully theirs.

“If we allow certain things to occur, then they become custom and practice,” he stressed to membership.

Shepherd was at the time addressing the President’s Reception, held at the BUT’s “Merryhill” Headquarters on Monday night, under the theme “Trade Unions under Threat: But Resolute, Steadfast and Unswerving.”

The President’s reception is held annually during 'Teacher’s Week', to honour individuals who have laboured long and hard in the provision of quality education, and have been staunch supporters of the union’s efforts. This year, five such persons were honoured for their outstanding contribution to education and to the union.

Shepherd said that the issues of term’s leave, short study leave and non-teaching periods, are but a few examples of how their terms and conditions are being eroded.

“Our right to associate and meet is now under threat and must not be allowed to take root either. Holding of membership meetings is now called ‘strikes’ and pay deducted. Where is the equity, fairness and justice?

“Our theme was chosen because of what we see as serious threats to the survival of this 42-year-old independent trade union… It is the view of this union, and most members of the executive, that the BUT must do whatever it can within its power to fight the negative forces, wherever they are, by remaining resolute, steadfast and unswerving in our commitment, to ensure that the terms and conditions of service, fought for so many years ago, remain intact,” he stated.

As for the issue of the docking of teacher’s pay after May’s union meeting, Shepherd revealed that six months later, and after several letters written to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, separate meetings with the Ministry and the Prime Minister, there is still no resolution.

“I don’t think there is any willingness to bring any resolution to the matter, either on the part of the government or its agent the Ministry, unless forced to do so,” Shepherd pointed out.

“It is to this end that I will shortly be seeking the approval of those members who got their pay docked, and those who attended the meetings along with those who believe in unionism and in the maintenance of a fair and just society, to roll out a series of actions to bring about a resolution of one kind or the other.”

However, he further revealed that to this day, some teachers who attended the meeting have not had a cent taken out.

“Yet, the Ministry official said in a meeting with the Prime Minister that all the paper work was done and the deductions were completed. This was only so until a member of the executive responded by saying ‘mine was not deducted’. The immediate response from a senior member of the Ministry’s team was ‘oh, you mean not yet’… In June that member suffered a pay deduction of two days,” he recalled.

“The Permanent Secretary, in my view, had no authority to instruct that two days’ pay of the teacher’s be deemed overdrawn salary. Teachers could not have overdrawn salary that they worked for in the first place.

“Where else in the world of work does someone ask permission to leave work for whatever reason, permission was granted by the Head of Department or Supervisor, then the person leaves and returns to work and loses an entire day’s pay,” Shepherd added. (TL)