More teachers join
‘action for justice’
~ Action to continue until payments are received ~
PHILIPSBURG--The ranks of teachers who boycotted classes swelled significantly Wednesday as teachers defied appeals to end their protest and staged a motorcade that took them to
several schools to whip up additional support.
Under the leadership of the Windward Islands Teachers Union (WITU) the teachers also vowed to continue their action to protest the delay in the payment of their retroactive salary adjustments.
In a statement late Wednesday, WITU President Claire Elshot said the number of teachers participating in the current “action for justice” had increased from 70 on Monday to 200 yesterday, “giving us a mandate of more than three-quarters of our total membership.”
She also disclosed that “an additional 13 schools joined us in our struggle, with more expecting to join us … [today] Thursday,” and that a motion had been passed unanimously Wednesday “to continue with our action to remain out of school until the retroactive payment is received in our accounts.”
The majority of the teachers boycotting classes are drawn from the elementary schools, which were not scheduled to have classes today and tomorrow so that teachers could participate in the annual two-day Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) workshop at Genevieve de Weever school in Hope Estate.
However, based on reports reaching The Daily Herald last night, there were indications that many teachers would also stay away from the ASCD workshop.
As they did on Monday and Tuesday, the teachers assembled at their meeting place, the Windward Islands Federation of Labour (WIFOL) building on the Pondfill, Wednesday morning and were addressed by Elshot.
At the end of their meeting they held a motorcade that went to several of the schools that had continued to keep classes. At each stop they encouraged teachers who were still manning classrooms to join their “action for justice.”
The first stop of the motorcade was at St. Maarten Academy, where Elshot met with the teachers who were still on the job.
The motorcade then travelled to St. Maarten Academy PSVE and St. Dominic High, where St. Dominic High teachers submitted a letter informing the union that they would join it at the WIFOL building today from 7:30am.
The motorcade then moved to the Vocational School, where examinations are taking place in the exam classes at the moment. The teachers there agreed to be updated on the action via written notification. WITU President Claire Elshot stressed that parents of students in the exam classes at the Vocational School should make sure their children attended school.
At the two Methodist Agogic Centre campuses, the union requested that both principals circulate an open invitation to the teachers to join the action after school hours by making an appearance at the WIFOL building.
Milton Peters College teachers also joined the action from 10:00am yesterday.
At the WIFOL building, where Elshot addressed a much larger gathering than on Tuesday, she stressed that the action was one for justice, as the teachers were demanding their retroactive payment in their hands prior to going back to the classroom. A unanimous vote was made to continue the action once again today.
Commissioner Roy Marlin mentioned during the Executive Council press briefing yesterday that during Tuesday’s discussion between the union and the Island Council represented by him and Education Commissioner Sarah Wescot-Williams, representatives of the Department of Wages and Salaries had explained clearly the process of working in the new salary scales.
He said he saw no reason for further action, as it had been explained that the issue of distributing the retroactive payments was not a matter of liquidity, but more of an administration setback, as it was taking time to incorporate the changes based on the new salary scale, retroactive payments and inclusion of the NAf. 150 allowance for all teachers.
He said the Department of Wages and Salaries had indicated its willingness to work overtime to ensure that all payments would be made by the end of February. Therefore, he urged all teachers to take into consideration government’s standpoint and take further action only if payments were not made by the end of the month.
Commissioner Wescot-Williams echoed Marlin’s statements. She appealed to the teachers to understand once again that nothing “humanly” could happen until the end of February and to take into consideration the parents who were being inconvenienced by their action. She said she would hate for it to come to the point where teachers were staying home and probably would not be receiving payment for the days they are not working.
