No further action taken in case against teachers who ran in elections

Just over a month after two teachers were sent on leave for contesting the January 19 general elections, they say they are still awaiting word from the Ministry of Public Service on what will happen next, and when.

Teachers Alwyn Babb and Pedro Shepherd, who are away from work on half pay for six months, both responded to the charges laid against them on April 4, within 14 days of receipt of the correspondence as required.

Babb, who ran on a Democratic Labour Party (DLP) ticket in St Peter, and Shepherd, who flew the DLP flag in the St Michael South East constituency, face disciplinary charges arising out of their participation in the polls as public servants.

Caswell Franklyn, General Secretary of the Unity Workers Union (UWU) who is representing Babb, told Barbados TODAY he received acknowledgment of his written response from the Ministry of Public Service.

He said in that response, he outlined that Babb did nothing wrong by contesting the polls and requested that his client’s full salary be reinstated.

Shepherd said while it has been weeks since he responded to the charges, he only received correspondence from the Ministry acknowledging receipt.

“I thought that once we responded in 14 days as the letter said, they would then convene a meeting with the three-man committee as set up by the President [Dame Sandra Mason] to hear whatever it is. I believe that the Ministry of Public Service will just sit on this matter for the six months or even longer,” he said.

“Maybe after the six months they decide that they may terminate. I don’t know what is the plan. I am just eagerly awaiting the convening of that meeting so that I can hear what their plan is. I know what my plan is. My plan is to return to work either at the end of the six months or before.”

Meanwhile, Franklyn said he has an attorney-at-law on standby to challenge the actions being taken against Babb, charging that the educators were being punished although they had not been found guilty of anything.

“I would expect that Mr Babb and Shepherd would have their salaries reinstated post-haste. People have been [barely] surviving on full salaries and it is not easy to survive on half. This nonsense about putting people on half pay while the investigations are going on is really a punishment. I don’t care what they say, it is a punishment and you are inflicting punishment on people before you find them guilty,” the trade unionist contended.

“You put a man at risk of not paying his mortgage or paying his car loan or whatever during his period. And if you find that he is not guilty, you would have just damaged that man’s credit, you would have just caused problems for him and he would have effectively been punished, and this nonsense has to stop,” Franklyn told Barbados TODAY.

Babb and Shepherd face several charges including committing misconduct of a serious nature between January 3 and January 19, when they participated in the 2022 General Election, contrary to General Order 3.18.1 of the General Orders for the Public Service 1970 and in contravention of Paragraph 2 (h) of the Code of Discipline in the Public Service, Third Schedule, Public Service Act, Cap. 29; and being absent from the performance of his duties as a teacher without leave or approval.

However, the UWU boss remained adamant that the two teachers have been wrongfully accused, insisting that the Constitution states that the only public officers prohibited from taking part in elective politics are judges, the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the Auditor General.

“What is being done to them is contrary to law,” Franklyn said. “The unfortunate thing is that the people who administer the public service don’t read the rules because this rule existed since November 30, 1966 and they continue enforcing rules that went out of force prior to Independence in 1966.

“Civil servants not running existed up until Independence. The Constitution made provisions that said that only [certain] people can’t contest a general election,” he insisted.
anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb