The government has continued to work towards resolving the outstanding issues
that are at the crux of an apparent impasse with the nation’s teachers.
On April 4, the Antigua and Barbuda Union of Teachers dispatched a
letter to the Ministry of Education indicating that it intends to call out its
membership for industrial action effective April 11, citing a number of outstanding
matters.
In response, the ministry of education extended the Easter Vacation for public
schools for an extra week, in a move designed to provide additional time for the
two sides to come together and resolve the impasse.
Up to late Tuesday afternoon, the minister responsible for Civil Service matters,
Sir Molwyn Joseph was engaged in negotiations with an A&BUT team as he
sought to bring his immense experience to bear on the process.
Prior to that meeting, Pointe Express reached out to the President of the A&BUT,
Casroy Charles Jnr. who said, “while he acknowledged that the government has
been moving to resolve the outstanding issues, the union is of the view that these
matters have been unresolved for too long.”
“It’s good to see that the ministry is working feverishly to accomplish the goal,
which is to resolve the unresolved issues, but this attempt is not novel because
history would have dictated that they would have attempted something similar last
year, which fell through, and which has brought us to this point once again. So just
saying that you are working on it, is not adequate, because you have been working
on it and as soon as we let up a bit, you just lapse in terms of what you are
supposed to do,” he declared.
He identified the outstanding issues as schools’ security, teacher upgrades, heads
of department honoraria, and a new collective bargaining agreement. On
the issue of the new CBA, Charles said he understands that the negotiations are not
being done by the ministry of education, but he is of the view that the ministry
ought to impress upon the negotiating team the urgency in having the CBA
completed.
Charles holds the view that the ministry has been woefully inefficient in
completing the list of teachers who are to be upgraded and that it took pressure
from the A&BUT for the list to be finally submitted to the treasury late last year,
more than a year after it was promised to be done.
Both Charles and General Secretary Sharon Clifton-Kelsick said the A&BUT has
exercised much patience with the ministry and they appreciate the willingness of
the officials to meet regularly to resolve the matters. They also credited the Cabinet
for taking an interest in the teachers’ complaints, however, they are of the view
that the time for talking has passed and they wish to see action.
“We have met with the Cabinet twice in the last nine months, yet everything is not
fully resolved. We are holding their feet to the fire to get things done in a timely
manner,” Clifton-Kelsick stated.
Following the meeting with Minister Joseph, the A&BUT will convene a meeting
with its membership on Thursday for direction on the way forward.
