Teachers’ new salaries
will be paid in March
~ Public school teachers yet to be placed in new scales ~
PHILIPSBURG--Teachers will have to wait a tad bit longer before they receive heavier pay packets according to the new salary scales that were approved last year.
They originally expected to be paid in January and the payments were to be made retroactive to August 1, 2007. The payment dates were subsequently changed to February 15 for the retroactive payment and the end of February for teacher’s salaries to reflect the new scales.
Insular Education Department Head Quincy Harrigan and education official Claudette Forsythe-LaBega told teachers yesterday that they would receive their retroactive payment dating back to August 2007 during the first or second week of March. Their salaries at the end of March will reflect the new scales.
Harrigan and Forsythe-LaBega, who addressed the educators during their emergency meeting at the Windward Islands Federation of Labour (WIFOL) building on Monday, said the delay in the payment to government-subsidised schools was due primarily to the late receipt of the necessary information from the school boards.
Regarding public school teachers, Harrigan said that up to yesterday, Monday, the Executive Council hadn’t yet approved placing each public school system teacher into his or her new scale. This is expected to be done today, Tuesday, to facilitate the payment in March.
Harrigan said at least two weeks was needed to process the payment, but some government-subsidised schools had only submitted their information on February 8, while some had sent in after this date corrections of information they had submitted earlier, which he said was too late to meet the promised date of payment.
This explanation by the education officials did not go down too well with the educators. Loud gasps permeated the air in the WIFOL building when teachers were told that they would not receive payment until the first or second week of March. Some teachers loudly expressed their disappointment in this development and chided the education officials for not informing them earlier.
Forsythe-LaBega apologised to the teachers, but said the date had to be pushed back even further to ensure that there were no inaccuracies to the salaries of the teachers – a situation which she said would irk teachers even more.
Some teachers said they didn’t believe the education officials, while others demanded to hear from Education Commissioner Sarah Wescot-Williams.
The teachers subsequently took their disappointment to the streets and protested in front of the Government Administration Building. They plan to continue their action today, Tuesday, by downing tools to demand a hearing with Wescot-Williams. The teachers have asked parents to come out with their children in a show of solidarity (see related story). (Judy H. Fitzpatrick)
