The Bahamas Union of Teachers President Belinda Wilson has pointed out serious challenges with the state of schools and compensation for teacher.
Mrs. Wilson said confirmations, back pay, reassessments and reclassification are among some of the challenges and she says, she is tired of the rhetoric.
“I’m hoping that this year the 400 plus teachers that are owed about $3 million are paid in this fiscal period because if its spread out over a three or four year period, it means that that person who has been waiting for 15 years would now have to wait for 18, those waiting for 10 will be waiting for 13 years.
“It impacts the teachers right to the core, when you talk about the basic necessities like rent, light, water, phone, bills, food for their children and we just had a VAT increase, so we want our teachers paid,” she said.
This is certainly not the only problem, Mrs. Wilson also stated her issue that the union was neither consulted nor invited to the tour of school campuses last Saturday.
She said, “you cannot say that the schools will be ready if you have not communicated and consulted with the teacher’s representative.
“You say we’re stakeholders, so if we’re stakeholders and we’re partners, it means that we need to move together. We need to speak with one voice; they need to contact us to say there is a challenge, and we are thinking about this site or that site, can you join us so we can look at the logistics?” she said.
While officials insist schools will be ready for the September 3rd reopening, the B -U-T head said she’s not so convinced.
“The contractors are saying that it will be ready, but they will have to make me a believer because it seems like there’s a lot of work to be completed,” Mrs. Wilson said.
Mrs. Wilson insists that if the government would simply accept some of the union’s recommendations, there would be less conflict.
