Minister of Education Daryll Matthew has called on the Antigua and Barbuda Union of Teachers (A&BUT) to work more collaboratively with the government to resolve teachers’ issues, stating that “we’ve gotten to a place where it seems as if dialogue and good industrial practice has gone out the window”.
Addressing last week’s teachers’ strike in Parliament yesterday, the education minister sought to provide more of the Ministry’s perspective on what occurred.
He said that allowances increased from $200 to $400 in the new collective bargaining agreement, and that difference in amount was what was being sought by teachers.
“The claim of variance is not as a result of government not having paid increases when it was negotiated and which became effective from 2018. Once the new contract was signed, payments were being made all along. It was simply the processing to update what was agreed to,” he said.
Matthew expressed frustration at what he characterized as a breakdown in communication between the government and union leadership.
“What has happened is that we’ve gotten to a place where it seems as if dialogue, communication and good industrial practice has simply gone out the window in favour of open hostility.”
The Minister claimed that the A&BUT continued their protest even in the case where only two cheques remained outstanding and arrangements had been made for these to be collected.
He suggested this pointed to “a more sinister motive” for continuing the industrial action into Monday, despite the issue being resolved.
“I want to let our teachers, and our educators know we have no fight with them. We have never refused any request for support. We have never pushed back on any issue that benefits our educators, and we will not,” Matthew concluded, calling for the teachers’ bargaining agent “to be more responsible in its public utterances and behaviour”.
Prime Minister Gaston Browne, however, was more direct in his criticism of the union in his address before Parliament.
The PM described the teachers’ industrial action as “disproportional” during his parliamentary address, taking a much stronger stance against the A&BUT leadership than the education minister, directly accusing the union president of political involvement with the opposition.
“[The Minister of Education and I] got information last week that the teachers union president met with certain members of the hierarchy of the UPP,” Browne claimed. “They had planned this action to stretch the protest action into Tuesday of this week, when Parliament was originally planned in order to boost the UPP protest actions.”
Browne expressed concern about the impact on primary school students, noting they were not even affected by the allowance dispute which primarily concerned secondary school teachers.
“We have no quarrels with the teachers. In fact, there are several senior educators who have said to us that the best negotiations they’ve had, the best benefits they’ve enjoyed, is under my administration,” he added.
Meanwhile, Browne called on public sector workers to improve their performance in office or face consequences.
“We have had 10 years protecting incompetence in this country; it’s finished,” he stated. “All I’m saying here, all this lethargy that has gone unnoticed will no longer go unnoticed. If you don’t perform, we’ll move you.”
The comments come amid media reporting that long-time Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education Rosa Greenaway has been moved to the Ministry of Social Transformation, with the PS at the Ministry of Health Ena-Dalso Henry replacing her.
Meanwhile, speaking to Observer media, A&BUT President Casroy Charles declined to respond directly to the PM’s remarks.
“If they have evidence of what they would have alleged, they can make it public,” Charles told Observer media. He added, “As to the content of the Parliament discussion, I am not privy to it, therefore I won’t comment on the presentation but if the persons in question have evidence of the allegation they would have put in Parliament, feel free to bring it to the public.”
Charles also declined to comment on the government’s suggestion that school hours might be extended to make up for lost time during the industrial action.
“I do not have this discussion in the public sphere. We are a bargaining agent. We negotiate or have dialogue with our employers behind closed doors, and I’m not retreating from that position,” he said.
