Teachers gearing up for more action

TEACHERS are being advised to be on the alert for “mass solidarity action” this week, once legal advisers of the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) give the all clear. President of the union Trevor Oliver told Newsday yesterday they already knew the form the action would take, but they had to be cleared with their lawyers in the context of the injunction taken out against teachers by the Ministry of Education. In the same breath, Oliver said the union’s General Council is insisting that the Ministry withdraw the injunction.

The Council met in emergency session on Saturday at the Chaguanas Junior Secondary School. Oliver said the Council condemned the Government for imposing what it termed “an undemocratic measure in order to silence the union.” He said the Council noted that the Ministry wanted the union to negotiate with its hands and feet tied. He said they vowed to resist all undemocratic measures and immediately decided to take the struggle to the international community. Oliver reiterated that the union will write to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and its affiliate body, Education International (EI), which is the international body for some 45 million teachers. He said both he and the union’s first vice president will soon travel to Brazil to address an EI congress about the matter.

In addition, the union has been mandated to write to all parliamentarians condemning Government’s action and its “attempt to erode the democracy.” Regarding the mass solidarity action, Oliver said the definite action will be announced today or tomorrow. He said the Council also issued a call to the Ministry to “withdraw the National Test.” He said the union had evidence that the test had been compromised. He said they had reports that many schools did not do the test on the designated Tuesday but instead was carried out on Wednesday, which meant by that time the test papers were in the hands of different persons and, therefore, wasn’t fair. As for the meeting with the Chief Personnel Officer (CPO), Oliver said there was no sign of change after last Friday’s meeting. He said the Council vowed to fight for decent wages.

He said the union had recognised that the poor salaries, especially in the areas of Maths, English and IT, were causing those teachers to migrate, and was creating a brain drain. He said the message sent to parents and students was that teachers wanted an amicable solution, but “it must be one that is just.” Oliver said the next meeting with the CPO was scheduled for Friday but the union was willing to meet any other time, once there was a better offer.