The industrial action by teachers in Antigua and Barbuda will continue, according to Teachers’ Union President Casroy Charles.
Charles confirmed that “the government has not satisfied the demands, therefore the industrial action continues”.
This announcement comes as Prime Minister (PM) Gaston Browne has intensified his criticism of the ongoing strike, characterizing the action as “disproportionate” and taking particular aim at union leadership during his recent radio program.
In his delivery, the Prime Minister labels the response from teachers’ union representatives as excessive, since the government reportedly processed outstanding payments.
“Now, I said when I got back on Thursday evening, I said that this type of behavior is disproportionate,” Browne stated on his radio program. “It’s like a hungry man going to a supermarket, right? And steal a bread. Goes before a judge. Yes, stealing the bread is wrong. And a judge gonna give the man five years. Is that a proportional sentence? It’s disproportionate. It is excessive.”
The PM elaborated on his position, directly challenging the union’s decision to continue the strike despite government concessions. “So, you’re telling me after you done strike for four days, on the fifth day the government beg you to go back to work. You only have six checks to process. Maybe six checks are $400 apiece. $2,400. And we said to you, cooperate. Please go back to work,” Browne said.
Browne reserved his harshest criticism for union leadership and singled out Charles by name. “Where I draw the line is with that union executive led by the guy, Casroy, whatever his name is. He’s a political hack,” the PM declared.
According to Browne, the government processed all outstanding checks by Friday afternoon. The union however has now confirmed that teachers will not return to classrooms as the demands remain unmet.
The Prime Minister spoke of concerns about the impact on students, stating that “our children are among our most vulnerable” and that adults have “an obligation to protect the poor, the vulnerable, to include our youth”.
In contrast to the Browne’s stance, Minister of Education Daryl Matthew offered his perspective perspective, cautioning against generalizing all teachers, based on the actions of union leadership.
“Notwithstanding the industrial action that is being sanctioned by, and perhaps encouraged by, the teachers’ union, a lot of the teachers were in their classrooms with their children, continuing to work with them,” Matthew noted. “We, by no stretch of the imagination, want to use a broad brush to paint all of our teachers.”
Matthew added that the continued strike action appeared to have limited support among the broader teacher population. “The last vote that they took on Tuesday night, I think it was on Wednesday, 216 teachers voted to continue, 22 voted to go back to work, and the others who were there abstained. You’re looking at 238 teachers out of over 1500,” he explained.
