Teacher’s union head quits

The sudden and immediate resignation of Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) President Sean Spencer has left an opening for leadership of the country’s largest teachers’ union that Pedro Shepherd – a former president is “ready and willing” to assume.

Without warning, Spencer announced his resignation early Tuesday morning on Facebook. It comes nearly five months after he survived a no-confidence motion tabled by former BUT Public Relations Officer Dwayne Goddard and almost nine months after he quit the position of Assistant General Secretary of the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations (CTUSAB).

“I have formally resigned from the executive of the BUT. I wish to thank those who entrusted me with the leadership of the union as well as those who gave me the opportunity to serve as an officer over the past five years for their support. It was a privilege to be able to lend my efforts to the furtherance of the cause of teachers. Thank you,” said Spencer’s brief Facebook post.

Efforts to reach him for further clarification were unsuccessful. General Secretary, Herbert Gittens however confirmed that a letter was sent to the union informing them of his decision.

“He has not given any reasons for his resignation. The executive committee has accepted the resignation of Mr Spencer and per the constitution of the BUT, the current Vice President of the BUT Mr Richmark Cave will act as president until elections are held in early August 2020,” Gittens told Barbados TODAY.

“The executive and membership of the BUT wishes Mr Spencer well in his future endeavors,” the General Secretary added.

While offering his own best wishes and success to the union’s executive and members, Spencer reportedly revealed that he had no interest in running for the organisation’s upcoming elections slated for June and asked that his name be removed from the list of candidates.

Months after the official closure of nominations, that decision has left former union president Pedro Shepherd as the lone contestant for the presidency in the upcoming election two years after being unseated by Spencer.

When contacted, Shepherd told Barbados TODAY that he had been preparing to take up a leading role within the union for sometime, as the elections initially slated for April were postponed due to Covid-19.

“If [Spencer] chooses to remove his name, then my name would likely be the only one on the ballot paper. I look forward to that ballot paper being placed in the public domain and once I am the unopposed person for the post, I will be looking at charting the course for the BUT going forward,” he told Barbados TODAY.

While stressing that he was only speaking as an educator and did not want to be “premature”, Shepherd revealed he was hoping to see more robust discussions about numerous issues currently affecting teachers, including the movement to online platforms that placed educators at the “deep end” when the ongoing pandemic reached our shores.

“We need to discuss the online platforms, we need to discuss the future of the Common Entrance Exam to determine whether it will in fact be replaced. There are outstanding issues with the CXC (Caribbean Examinations Council) and the SBAs (School Based Assessments).
kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb