07th
March 2013
SCHOOL’S
IN SESSION
Stan Bishop
(Photo)
School children from the Gordon & Walcott
Memorial Methodist School yesterday completed
their first day of school this week
Following their
absence from school on Monday and Tuesday of
this week, teachers and students across the
island returned to their normal classroom settings
yesterday.
Classes were
suspended on Monday and Tuesday as teachers
participated in a sick-out spurred by the current
wage negotiations between the Government Negotiating
Team and Trade Union Federation. At issue is
the TUF’s reluctance to accept government’s
offer of a 4% wage increase for the 2010-2013
triennium.
Students who
showed up for classes last Monday and Tuesday
were greeted by closed doors as many teachers
adhered to the sick-out that extended to and
affected much of the public service. At other
schools, however, few teachers did show up but
students who did were urged to return home.
The disruption
of classes not only affected students, as parents
had to make alternative arrangements to have
their children supervised during the two-day
period. Despite an assurance given last Monday
by the Minister for Education, Dr. Robert Lewis,
that schools would resume regular classes on
Tuesday, schools remain closed.
Classes were
also suspended on various days during the past
two weeks as public sector workers demonstrated
their contentions with the wage negotiations
process that began late last year. |
