The national umbrella of trade unions on Wednesday demanded faster progress on critical reforms, including the establishment of a long-promised Teaching Services Commission and urgent safety measures to protect schools.
The Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB) warned that delays could undermine confidence in the education system and leave students and teachers at risk.
CTUSAB intensified its call for inclusion in shaping the structure and operations of the Teaching Services Commission, which the government has pledged to establish by the end of 2025.
General Secretary Dennis De Peiza also underscored the importance of involving the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) as the voice of educators in these discussions.
“We believe that we should have the opportunity to have an input into anything that is coming online which caters to the [human resources] aspects of the profession,” De Peiza said after a meeting with the Ministry of Education earlier this week.
Unlike other commissions under the Ministry of Public Service, CTUSAB insisted, the Teaching Services Commission must function independently. “We also want to make it clear that the commission should not serve as an arm of the Ministry of the Public Service. It should be standing on its own as an independent body,” he asserted.
The push for this commission comes amid what De Peiza described as a “long-awaited” meeting with the Ministry of Education (MOE) to address longstanding concerns.
“We were able to get some favourable traction on some of them,” he noted. However, despite past promises from successive governments, De Peiza acknowledged that concrete progress on the commission remains elusive.
He said: “We’ve had governments promising to have the reenactment of the commission, and to date, we are no wiser as to where they are, outside of the fact that our meeting with the MOE reminded us of the promise of the prime minister to have the commission up and running before the end of 2025.”
The Ministry of Public Service states on its website that consultation for the commission is ongoing and “provisions have been made for the eventual establishment of a Teaching Service Commission to treat matters specific to the Teaching Service”.
CTUSAB also urged the Ministry of Education to expedite the implementation of safety measures in schools following its latest discussions. Proposed steps include developing a comprehensive safety and health policy, standardising emergency drills, increasing counsellors, and bolstering campus security with additional officers and surveillance cameras.
“We have learned from the ministry that they are in the process of establishing a structure [with] regards [to] the planning and execution of emergency drills in schools,” De Peiza said, suggesting that the trade union congress play an active role in shaping this policy, either directly or through the BUT.
He stressed the need for urgency, warning that ongoing issues of school violence threaten mental well-being and productivity.
“If it continues as is without something being done to help people feel comfortable, the issue of productivity will become a question that needs to be answered,” he cautioned.
The CTUSAB general secretary commended specific measures, such as deploying security officers to all schools, but urged the government to assign additional personnel to larger campuses.
“We are happy to hear that there is at least a presence to give comfort to those at the facility. But the government should consider having more than one officer at some schools, depending on the size of the plant,” he said.
CTUSAB expressed the hope that the security measures will be implemented without delay, describing them as “critical to creating a secure learning environment”.
“We are hopeful that what has been said to be in train will be in reality in the shortest possible time,” De Peiza added. (SM)
