Teachers down tools today, say
Govt should keep promise to pay
~ Plan to protest in front of Govt building ~
By Judy H. Fitzpatrick
PHILIPSBURG--Teachers of the various schools plan to down tools today, Tuesday, to protest the delay in the implementation of the new salary scales and the delay in the payment of their retroactive salaries.
The teachers are also protesting what they say is the disrespectful treatment government has meted out to them over the years, culminating in government’s failure to inform them that the retroactive payout promised them would be late.
The teachers plan to gather at the Windward Islands Federation of Labour (WIFOL) building at 7:30 this morning then proceed to the Government Administration Building to protest. They will be seeking an audience with Education Commissioner Sarah Wescot-Williams and have asked parents and their children to join them in a show of solidarity.
Insular Education Department Head Quincy Harrigan and education official Claudette Forsythe-LaBega informed the teachers during a meeting Monday that government was unable to meet the promised implementation date and assured them that all efforts would be made to pay them during the “first or second week of March” (see related story).
The teachers were originally scheduled to be paid in keeping with the new salary scales in January and the payments were to be made retroactive to August 1, 2007.
However, after encountering some difficulties in meeting the January deadline, Wescot-Williams had announced that the retroactive payout would be made on February 15.
Windward Islands Teachers Union (WITU) sent a letter to government on Friday, seeking answers as to why the retroactive payment hadn’t been made as promised. The union had asked that a meeting be called to provide answers within one week. However, frustrated teachers took action even before this deadline was met.
Protest
Teachers warmed up for today’s action on Monday when educators of several schools proceeded to the Government Administration Building in a motorcade honking their horns loudly and holding placards through their vehicle windows.
The action began around 3:00pm and lasted for about 20 minutes.
WITU President Claire Elshot wanted an audience with the education commissioner, but was unsuccessful in her bid. She said security personnel who were busy securing the doors in the government building had informed her that the Commissioner was unavailable.
“We will be unavailable tomorrow too,” some angry teachers said when Elshot informed them about this.
The union President subsequently told reporters that the teachers would “keep trying” to meet with the Commissioner every day until Wescot-Williams addressed them about their salary concerns.
The teachers stood outside the building bearing placards. The slogans included: “Where is the Beef?” “Where is the Commissioner of Education?” and “Retro Inactive.” Intermittently they also chanted, “Don’t be dishonest, give us what you promise,” “No money, no work,” and “Too late to calculate.”
The teachers disbanded around 3:20pm and promised to return in numbers today.
At one point Commissioner They Heyliger came out of the Government Administration Building and interacted with some of the teachers.
Incident began at Sundial
Yesterday’s meeting was sparked when a group of irritated Sundial School teachers held a “sit-in” to vent their frustration over not being paid. The teachers decided early in the day that they had had enough, and called in WITU. The Sundial teachers then met on the school compound until noon, following which they moved their meeting to the WIFOL building, joining teachers of other schools.
The School Board SVOBE reportedly was informed about the action and reportedly was against it.
Sundial students Isorella Fecunda, Kristi Leblanc and Rasheeda Spanner of Form ZB3 said they were disappointed that their teachers had held the sit-in yesterday, as they had test coming up in about two weeks. The students expressed hope that classes would resume today, as they wanted to brush up on material for their exams.
The students said they had spent the day with their mentors. “The teachers just told us that they had to go to a meeting and we did not have class for the rest of the day,” one of the students said.
After meeting at the WIFOL building for close to two hours, the teachers decided to proceed to the Government Administration Building to protest.
Upset
During the meeting at the WIFOL building, teachers said they were not satisfied with the explanation provided by Harrigan. They believed the process to pay according to the new scales was not being dealt with expeditiously enough. They also chided the education officials for failing to inform them earlier that the payment would be delayed, rather than waiting until they took action to provide answers.
One teacher said she felt as though she was being treated “worse than a doormat,” which brought on loud roars of applause from the group of educators.
A Milton Peters College teacher said her colleagues had opted to remain in school yesterday because of the large number of students for whom they had responsibility, but said the educators of that school were “ready to take action” from Thursday to drive home their point. Another teacher said this issue had been going on for four years and government shouldn’t come with any excuses now.
A Ruby LaBega School teacher said she didn’t believe this latest “promise” that the payment would now be made in March, as she had been waiting for a correction to her salary for two years, for which she had had to lobby. She said too that although the correction had been made late last year, another error had appeared on her most recent pay slip.
“We feel disrespected. If they knew they would be late they should have told us so,” one teacher charged.
“Enough is enough,” said another.
Forsythe-LaBega apologised to the teachers, but said the date had been pushed back even further to ensure that there were no inaccuracies to the teachers’ salaries – a situation which she said would irk teachers even more.
