BUT: $1 500 payment not made to some teachers

Some teachers are still waiting on the $1 500 promised under Government’s wage agreement with public sector trade unions, according to President of the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) Rudy Lovell.
He said while the unions had negotiated the one-off payment in early March, some members had not received the money by the month-end deadline.
“The BUT is hoping for a speedy resolution to this issue,” Lovell said while addressing the opening of the union’s Annual General Conference at the Radisson Aquatica on Monday.
Last month, the Government and trade unions reached a deal that included the one-off payment as well as a six per cent salary increase over the next two years and a 16 per cent hike in allowances up to 2025.
The Ministry of the Public Service had also outlined non-salary aspects of the agreement that included the creation of 22 master teacher posts and 10 specialist nurse posts; the establishment of a Grievance Monitoring Committee to meet monthly to track and resolve public officers’ grievances; and a public service-wide regrading and job evaluation exercise which starts this year.
Lovell said discussions on the non-salary items of the agreement were ongoing.
Among those which he said the union had proposed for teachers were the provision of free eye examinations, dental and other medical benefits.
“The provision of paternity leave; four days of bereavement leave for the death of a family member, spouse or partner; seven annual mental health days; interest-free loans and tax-free vehicles for teachers with 15 or more continuous years of service; the establishment of the post of deputy principal in primary schools; the implementation of the Draft Collective Bargaining Agreement between the BUT and the Ministry of Public Service which has been on the table since 2010; three months of election leave for teachers contesting general elections,” Lovell added.
The BUT president said the union had also put in a request to the Ministry of Public Service for a full-time paid officer as well as time off for teachers in the recently created vice-president posts to deal with union matters.
He said this was critical to effective, day-to-day management of member issues, given the volume of concerns the union deals with daily.
Lovell also lamented the lack of communication between the Ministry of Education and BUT officials.
“Unfortunately, we only had two quarterly meetings with the PS [Permanent Secretary] last year and very often there is no response to correspondence sent to the Ministry of Education by the union, not even acknowledgement of correspondence, and at times missed phone calls to some ministry officials are not returned,” he said.
“This is unfortunate and forces the union to go public to have issues addressed. The union has also been engaged in monthly meetings with the Ministry of Public Service via CTUSAB and this allows for other issues of concern to be ventilated. This communication forum is encouraging and helps to address issues that are not addressed at the level of the hierarchy of the Ministry of Education.”
Lovell told the packed conference room that the BUT continued to fight to advance the interests of members, which he said had led to membership increasing by 135 over the past year.
He said the 49-year-old union recently relaunched its membership card and the discounts provided by more than 30 companies will result in significant savings for the BUT’s 2 200-plus members.
“As noted earlier, over the past year, our membership has grown, which is pleasing. As we approach our golden anniversary next year, we encourage you to let your colleagues know that the BUT is open for business and has room for many more members. We hope to have a befitting celebration in 2024 with the entire membership,” Lovell said.
When contacted, general secretary of the National Union of Public Workers Ricahrd Greene also reported that some of his membership did not receive the one-off payment as yet.
“Some people have indicated that they have not received their $1 500 as yet. We have been in communication with the Ministry of Finance and also the individual departments to have it resolved. This is in particular in a few of the statutory boards.
“It is difficult to say how many people did not receive it but I can say it is not a significant number. It is sporadic reports we have gotten. But obviously if anyone is disadvantaged it is a problem, however, it is not a significant number that haven’t received their lump sum payment as yet,” he said.
(AH)