Ministry of Education extends Easter Break in light of industrial action by teachers

1. When the super yacht sell monies will be available to solve all of the government woes..teachers, car park, liat workers, carnival performers, nurses, customs…evbrybaddy. ARE YOU JUST WAIT….PLEASE

2. Does this include Antigua State College also?

3. It is time for teachers to get what is due them. Teachers are overworked and underpaid. Ministry of education sending out a long list like they want the public to have sympathy on them when they know all these are overdue especially the retroactive pay and upgrade back pay. Teachers want their money they a
   go above and beyond the call of duty and can’t get any compensation for it. Stand up teachers and continue to pressure them.

4. Anything that disrupts children education cannot be good. I hope that they can get all the issues resolved so that schools can be resumed in the shortest possible time and continue without further disruption.

5. All civil servants need to move in one accord to get what they are due, put politics aside and put yourselves and co workers first infront of politicians. It is long over due nothing has been said, very disrespectful people! Interest need to go on the money for all the inconvenience caused!

6. Thanks for publishing what you have done thus far, M.O.E. Now, do all the other things needed so that all fields in the table can be filled. Take care of your teachers…they should be your priority.

7. These Unions are all foot soldiers of the UPP. One thing the ABLP failed to do over the year is to put their people in position in all these unions. They counted only on the ABTLU. And that also is being infiltrated by UPP spies like Mr. Ralph Potter. Married to Baldwin Spencer’s sister. Was once on the UPP slate of candidates. I don’t know how ABTLU could allow him to come on board. Now he is one of the biggest critics of the ABLP aligned union against the government.
   All these unions have one thing only as priority. Put as much pressure as possible on the government and cause industrial actions wherever possible. Make the most unrealistic demands from the government. Like asking them to break iron with their hands. They act as if they don’t know that we just came out of a pandemic and that we lost lots of revenue and GDP. They do not care at all. Their goal is obvious. ALL or nothing. Put the knife on the government throat and see what they will do.

   • Must everything boil down to politics? Teachers are functioning without an active bargaining agreement with the government, persons waiting for over 4 years to gey what is rightfully theirs, students and teachers are going to school feeling unsafe because of constant break ins but of course, it must be the job of the UPP. If you were waiting over 4 years to get ur salary upgrade and the monies due to you, I’m sure you would be singing a different tune. I wonder who is really the political lakky here?

8. It would be nice if unions and employers could bargain annually/periodically without politics or acrimony. There is nothing wrong with workers and management discussing what each side needs for smooth running of the business and people’s personal lives. Workers should be able to work in a safe environment with the equipment that they need and be compensated fairly to be able to meet their expenses based on cost of living in the wider society. If each side regularly communicates with and listens to each other then everyone can work together in peace. True money is always tight for the government, but there are ways of making things work. E.g if workplaces provide enough equipment to share then workers wouldn’t need to spend their own money on supplies and would not need as much of an increase. Overall, costs would be lower. Flexible spaces and hours can also lower costs of providing furniture and infrastructure. Lowering the cost of housing in the wider society by putting regulations in place to control the ratio of rentals and homes for sale priced for locals vs priced for richer foreigners would help to reduce expenses for workers. Right now, salaries can’t match the cost of housing. Developing neighbourhood shopping areas so persons don’t have to commute far to purchase items would also help. Government should develop society so that the cost of living better matches salaries for residents. As an employer, they should approve Departmental budget requests for shared equipment that workers need. And, they should bargain regularly with an open and understanding heart. Nothing to do with politics. imho.

9. Since schools have a lot of needs that the government cannot always keep up with, perhaps schools need to host more annual fundraisers etc., advertise properly, and the general public can try to support a bit more…. could be a good opportunity for the children to develop their entrepreneurial skills as well. Distinguished alumni and those who have made it to greener pastures could try to lend support/donate/ raise a few dollars amongst their friends and associates for their alma maters. Some prestigious institutions in the US are funded by alumni donations alone, allowing them to free up funds to offer more scholarships and opportunities to their students. We the people can also help to fix these problems whether or not we have children in a particular school since education is important for the development of scoiety.

   • IMHO I think you make sense. but here it this. Doesn’t it look like the problem is only with government schools? Because surely the government is not responsible for the equipment in the private schools. And when it comes to workplace safety, how safe can one get? At what price? Do we need soldiers guarding our schools day and night? Meanwhile we can learn from the USA that no matter what measures safety is never guaranteed. I mean if you work in a bank, you accept that your employer would put in certain safety measures like having an armed guard there during working hours. And a supermarket may also see the need in placing armed guards at the door to protect the cashiers and the money. But in a school, what do you really protect? The teachers and the students from some tugs? Don’t get me wrong, the schools these days need better security, and the schools need to implement better policies as to who is allowed on the premises. And at one point in time, we may need metal detectors at the school entrances. And believe me you will hear from the same teachers that they do not wish to be screened or body searched. This problem is a small group of tugs that can easily be identified. Everyone knows who they are. But I for one do not believe the union is negotiating in good faith. And the children who will suffer when they strike. If nothing were happening, I would say OK, go ahead and strike. But they know the government is working towards getting things done. But they are taking a hard stand anyway. Flexing their muscles.

     • They mist flex their muscles, these issues are not new. Somebody how we have conveniently forgotten that the government was engaged in a collective bargain with all unions prior to elections but since elections all bargaining has ceased as if to say that people no longer need raises and the money given should have been enough to satisfy people. The government constantly makes promises to their people and when they are allowed to miss the deadlines they take it for granted and move to other issues because they are satisfied that they have done enough to quiet the situation.

   • Because schools always sit on their bottoms and do nothing. None of issues raised are due to lack of funding in the schools. The issues raised are primarily focused and teachers’ pay and security of the school. Things that are the direct responsibility of the ministry and in no way that of the schools. But that being said, all schools are constantly having fund raisers but it is the same society they work hard to develop is the same society that turns their back on them saying that it is the government’s responsibility to fund the schools.

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