Teachers continue action today,
retroactive payment this month
~ Payout will cost government more than NAf. 1,000,000 ~
PHILIPSBURG--Classes at the various schools are likely to be disrupted for the second consecutive day today as teachers continue their action protesting the late payment of their retroactive salary adjustment and demanding respect from government.
Despite assurances from Education Commissioner Sarah Wescot-Williams that their retroactive payment would be included in their February pay packets, the many teachers who downed tools in protest on Tuesday voted unanimously to continue their action for the third day today.
The scores of teachers who abandoned their classes to protest the delay in the payment of their retroactive salary adjustment said they didn’t believe this latest promise made by the Education Commissioner. They vowed to continue their action until they received their money in their hands.
Shortly after meeting representatives of the Windward Islands Teachers Union (WITU) yesterday, Wescot-Williams told the press that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the retroactive payment would be paid at the end of this month. She said too that teachers’ salaries should reflect the new scales at the end of this month, a payout that will cost government more than NAf. 1,000,000.
The 16.3 per cent Windward Islands Allowance will also be incorporated into the teachers’ salaries. In the past this payment was given to teachers separately, something the union was always against.
The Commissioner said education officials had informed teachers on Monday that the payment would only be possible during the first or second week of March, based on information they had at that time. She said though that after meeting with the various departments concerned she had been informed that the payment would be possible at the end of this month.
The Commissioner said she regretted very much that teachers hadn’t been informed earlier that the retroactive payment would not be made on February 15 as had been promised, but said that although many persons had been working tirelessly to meet this deadline, it had been “humanly impossible” to do so.
Demonstration
As promised, many teachers turned up at the WIFOL Building from early Tuesday morning to continue their protest for the second day. Classes at several schools were affected and hundreds of students were turned away. (See related story.)
The teachers formed a motorcade around 11:00am and proceeded to the Government Administration Building where they demonstrated with placards and banners.
Not long after they arrived, the crowd of teachers swelled to a relatively large group. The educators were much more vociferous and organised than the day before, with teachers chanting: “We shall overcome today, or there will be no school tomorrow,” “This isn’t funny, we want our money,” and “No teachers, no country St. Maarten.
At one point, when Commissioner Theo Heyliger came out and began interacting with the teachers, their changed their chant to: “Sell a palm tree, pay a teacher, sell all the palm trees, pay all the teachers.”
As teachers demonstrated, the Executive Board of the union met with the Wescot-Williams in the Government Administration Building. At the end of the meeting WITU President Claire Elshot told her members the commissioner had assured her that all efforts would be made to make the retroactive payment at the end of this month. However, the teachers didn’t believe this promise and voted unanimously to continue their action until they receive their money in their hands.
Present at the demonstration were teachers of Ruby LaBega School, Sister Borgia School, St. Dominic Primary, St. Dominic High, Milton Peters College (MPC), Sundial School, Charles Leopold Bell School, Oranje School, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School and Hillside Christian School, amongst others.
The demonstration was sparked by a sit-in by Sundial School teachers on Monday morning that led to a meeting of teachers of the various schools later in the day which culminated with a demonstration in front of the Government Administration Building on Monday afternoon.
Teachers will assemble at the WIFOL Building again today for “a meeting.”
“The teachers are not going back to school until they get their money,” Elshot told The Daily Herald late Tuesday. They are not accepting promises. They want their money.”
Parent, politician back teachers
Suzy Daniel, a mother of seven children who attend Hillside Christian Schools, was among the few parents who turned out in a show of solidarity with the teachers. Daniel, who took time off from her job to be there, said she believed the teachers had a just cause. “If they are treated well, they will treat our kids well,” she said. “I am disappointed that more parents didn’t come out.”
National Alliance Island Councilman Frans Richardson, who also showed up to back the teachers, said the salary scales issue had been ongoing for quite some time already and should have been resolved already.
“If government is serious about education they won’t put teachers in this situation. It’s only when people demonstrate, then government reacts,” he said. (Judy H. Fitzpatrick)
