B.N.T.U. Gives Their Side on Labour Issues
Luke Palacio
For the first time since the strike began, there appears to be a division established in the solid eight-point agenda of the B.N.T.U. – nine, if the salary adjustment on which they are jointly negotiating with the Public Service Union and Association of Public Service Senior Managers is included. Today, former General Secretary George Frazer and President Luke Palacio outlined the Union’s positions, which is not the same as the Prime Minister’s.
Luke Palacio, National President, B.N.T.U.
“The Prime Minister is a very good spin doctor as we all know. We had eight demands—there were demands that had to do with good governance and there were demands that had to do with labor related issues. Our labor related issues have not adequately addressed by the Prime Minister. Those labor related issues we speak of are the ‘to and from’ work coverage for Social Security. Our other labor related demand is for proposal twenty-two for our teachers and support start at our grant-aided secondary schools and of course the three percent salary adjustments. Those are labor related issues that have not been adequately addressed.”
George Frazer
George Frazer, Former Secretary General, B.N.T.U.
“Each of the unions had a special proposal from their members and B.N.T.U. one was proposal twenty-two in which we negotiated increases in allowance like commuting teachers who had to travel and there are no school transport; rural hardship allowance teachers, who live or work in very remote areas, they get an extra sum to their pay. And then there were other components which include—and this could be done over a number of players—those high schools and tertiary level, like sixth form, government only pays seventy percent of their salaries. There are a number of points and benefits in Social Security which they are chancing people. For example when you pay for the whole week; if yo pay by the week, they deduct so much a month out of your pay…the employer also pays an amount. We also have certain other benefits they are not getting. For example, from midnight Saturday night up to midnight Sunday, if anything happen to yo, dehn noh cover yo.”
