Teachers strike will be illegal-Chief Education Officer; GTU says industrial action only option if no talks

Last Updated on Thursday, 1 February 2024, 1:24 by Denis Chabrol

Chief Education Officer Saddam Hussain on Wednesday said the Ministry of Education has been taking steps to improve the working conditions of teachers, and he warned that if they go on strike from next Monday, that industrial action would be illegal.

“To be clear, the MoE (Ministry of Education) has received advice from the Ministry of Labour, the experts on this issue, that conditions for strike action have not been met as a result of which any such strike would be wholly illegal and unlawful,” he said in an open letter to all headteachers and teachers.

Mr Hussain hinted that the planned industrial unrest was politically motivated, saying that that he had noted the strike call by GTU General Secretary and Member of Parliament, Coretta Mc Donald. “I believe that the GTU has been unduly influenced by its General Secretary who serves as a Member of Parliament for the main opposition,” the Chief Education Officer said.

He said if the teachers heed the strike call, students’ preparation for the National Grade Six Assessment and Caribbean Secondary Education examinations could be affected now and in the long term. “The threat of industrial action sets a bad precedence since this is the final term before the NGSA and CSEC exams. Any disruption to the teaching-learning process could affect individual children and their future thereby hampering the ability for families to use education to exit poverty,” Mr Hussain said.

While the Chief Education Officer said the Ministry of Education has fulfilled 25 of the GTU’s 41 proposals in less than three years for better working conditions. However, the GTU General Secretary told the Minister of Labour Joseph Hamilton that there has been no progress in having a multi-year agreement and salaries and non-salary benefits were being imposed rather than negotiated. “We believe in fair and transparent, and the current approach undermines the collaborative spirit necessary for sustained educational progress,” she added in the letter which was also dispatched to the Education Minister Priya Manickchand for her attention.

Ms Mc Donald called for an urgent meeting to discuss those matters, even as she sought to justify the GTU’s decision to embark on industrial action. “Industrial action is our last resort to ensure that our members salary and non-salary benefits are negotiated through the Collective Bargaining process as stipulated by the Labour Act.

The GTU General Secretary also cited the Chief Labour Officer’s alleged failure to act by not answering correspondence listing the workers; grievances. She called on the Labour Minister to investigate that lack of response ‘as timely intervention is crucial to fostering a resolution.”