TTUTA to protest outside Education Ministry

AS THE nation’s school doors  reopen today after the two-week Easter break, officials of the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) plan to picket the offices of the Ministry of Education at Alexandra Street, St Clair, to show their dissatisfaction over Government’s failure to pay teachers arrears of increments. The protest is expected to start at 10 am and if the TTUTA officials are not satisfied, answers would be sought from Education Minister Hazel Manning whom the union will meet with  tomorrow.

The theme of today’s protest is “Solidarity with my Comrades,” and protestors are expected to wear red T-shirts or their TTUTA T-shirts. TTUTA’s president Trevor Oliver told Newsday yesterday the protest was not meant to cause any interruptions to schools, but rather to “send a signal” to the Ministry that there is a level of dissatisfaction in the delay of paying the increments. Oliver said the union, comprising its conference of delegates, members of general council and those teachers who have not been paid, will participate in today’s protest and therefore schools reopening should operate  without any major problems. Asked why the union chose today for their protest, Oliver said it did not matter whether the protest took place during school holidays or the first day of school, since the crux of the matter was that some 800 teachers are owed monies and the Ministry has not provided them with satisfactory explanations as to the delay.

He said the union’s General Council will not be satisfied until every teacher is paid. Oliver explained that of the 10,000 teachers who were owed for the period 1987 to 1995, some 9,200 had already received their monies. He said the Ministry had promised to pay the monies by September 30, 2003. To date, Oliver said, the teachers owed have not even received their liability statements and once again the Ministry has demonstrated “their inefficiency, disrespect and contempt for the welfare of teachers.” However, not all schools will resume classes today. At Mucurapo Girls’ RC school, repairs will continue on the ceiling, but teachers are asked to report for work today. The new opening date is next Monday. At Palo Seco Government Secondary, only Form Five students will return to school (SEE PAGE 4) since fire at the wooden two-storey structure two weeks ago, destroyed a major part of the main school building. However, the Form Five students will be accommodated in an area “untouched by the fire.”