B.N.T.U. Accuses Ministry of Trying to Bully and Intimidate

Luke Palacio

According to the B.N.T.U., the salary deductions for the days on strike, is another form of attack against teachers. Palacio says that it is the school management that determines the issue of deductions. In a release this afternoon, B.N.T.U. calls the move a threat and bullying tactic by G.O.B.

Luke Palacio, National President, B.N.T.U.

“We are seeing this memo for exactly what we believe it is; the government continues to try and intimidate our teachers. The government continues to try and aggravate our teachers. When we put the strike on hold, we went throughout the country—we had membership meetings in all district towns—where the branch members had the opportunity to decide whether or not to put the strike on hold. We also noted that our teachers have said it repeatedly that as an act of good faith, we are prepared to make up the time. Why can’t the government, through the Ministry of Education, say let us give that process a chance to work and then we can determine if subsequent actions are taken whether or not the teachers would have brought their promise or good faith intention. The ministry is actually threatening these managements and usurping the authority of these managements. If managements thought that they could work out something with the teachers in terms of deducting from the salary because they were on strike then that would have been the purview of the managements. But this takes that away from them completely to the point where we are told that ministry people are going into the schools and sitting down with administrators and those who are there for them to get the records. Now how far can you go? Now as far as we are concerned, those schools that are not government schools are the property of the proprietors—be it the churches or any other organization.  So this again, the government is really showing some bully tactics that we don’t think is good for the country.”