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Teachers Will Get Paid, But Differences With Minister Persists
posted (October 27, 2016)
When teachers go the bank tomorrow, they will find their full pay in their accounts, even those who participated in the 11-day strike. But, come next month, it is uncertain if those strike teachers will get their full pay. That's when the deductions for those lost school days are scheduled to take place, and right now, the BNTU and the Ministry are trying to work out a resolution to ensure that no one's pay is docked.

The problem is that the Minister and the Union can't even agree on how they will meet to even discuss this. The Union wants its entire 25 member Council of Management to participate in the union, but the Minister of Education, Patrick Faber, thinks that 5 members are enough. Neither is giving any ground. The rift between the two sides is so great that both are questioning the other's motives. On the Ministry's side, this insistence on a full 25 member BNTU national executive is being interpreted as a tactic to frustrate the dialog. On the Union's side, they suspect that Faber wants to blindside them with proposals that they aren't able to accept, and, so they want the full participation of the Committee of Management.

This evening, the Union's National President, Luke Palacio, granted the press an interview, to lay out the union's position:

Luke Palacio - National President, BNTU
"We have indicated to the minister that the council of management is the second highest authority of the BNTU and that any such meeting would have to be with members of our council and so yesterday in the media when he indicated that he has suggested or is recommending to the BNTU that having 25 persons at a meeting would be counterproductive. We do not agree. In the past at about 2 occasions, the minister has had meetings with the entire membership of our council of management. So we do not find favor with what he is recommending."

Daniel Ortiz, 7News
"You have people there who will act as oversight so that it will not be a unilateral decision for members and yourself. Isn't that enough to have discussion on this matter?"

Luke Palacio - National President, BNTU
"Clearly, you don't know who you are dealing with when you deal with the minister of education and to a certain extent some of his operatives. The Prime Minister has met with our entire council of management. What is so wrong? What is so important? What is so that Minister Faber wants to hide or what is it he trying come? Is he trying to come and strong hand the union? Now you are affecting your members throughout the country. You are going to get to deal with the bottom-line, the pocket of these individuals who no doubt have expenses and you will wholeheartedly write in a memo and instruct the managers that every penny that is to be deducted must be deducted in one month. Where is the good faith intention? We are not going to be blindly led into a meeting with the minister and his operatives to try and have our teachers continue to suffer under their plan that he has in mind or for us to try and believe that it is wrong to strike in this country. A strike is a right that unions have, that has been articulated in the courts, that is articulated in the ILO Convention, that is articulated in the employers and employees trade union recognition act. So the minister cannot or should not attempt to hoodwinked the people and definitely not the BNTU."

We note that the meeting was scheduled for tomorrow, but at the close of business today, the BNTU still hadn't confirmed with the Deputy Prime Minister. Faber wrote them this evening saying, quote,

"I note that at this hour, the close of the business day, no response has been given regarding my suggestion to have our meeting of tomorrow, Friday convene with both sides bringing not more than five representatives each. I interpret the lack of a response thus far to mean that you may still need some more time to consult with your Council of Management and will be unable to meet tomorrow.

...if something is to be worked out between the BNTU and GOB to pay teachers from the BNTU Strike Fund and GOB funds…timely responses are of great importance to meet preparation deadlines." End quote.

So no meeting tomorrow, and we note that the BNTU's Committee of Management will have to discuss amongst itself if they will agree to send only 5 persons to meet with the Minister. So, what about the Strike Fund? We got a chance to discuss it today, and we put that up against parts of our interview with Faber from last week, so that you can hear their points and counterpoints on the Minister's proposal:

Luke Palacio - National President, BNTU
"The proposal of using BNTU's strike fund for part payment for the salaries that the ministry has decided that they are going to withhold. Our strike fund is not for that purpose and we will have to make that absolutely clear to the minister."

FILE: October 21, 2016
Hon. Patrick Faber, Minister of Education

"I promptly remind him of a resolution passed at the BNTU convention, I think it was the 42nd convention held in orange walk, where the resolution made clear that the strike fund was to be redefined to pay teachers who were denied a salary as a result of strike action. So unless there is something wrong and I would really love for all of you in the media to question Mr. Palacio about that resolution."

Luke Palacio - National President, BNTU
"The BNTU constitution clearly states that the strike fund is to be used for mobilization. In the convention in Orange Walk a resolution was passed and the resolution reads that BNTU makes an effort to redefine the use of the strike fund to cover for salaries when teachers would go on strike. Redefining does not mean that you are going to change it to do what the minister has interpret it to mean. The strike fund for the BNTU is a part of the dues that our members pay. We pay $1 per month towards the strike fund. It's not the $20 or $18 that the teachers' pay go toward a strike fund. Its only $1 per month. So the buildup that we've had in our strike fund to be able to carry out their things have been built up for many years. No doubt the strategy the minister is trying to implement is he wants us to break that strike fund so that we cannot mobilize and that is the farthest thing that we are prepared to do at this time."

Daniel Ortiz, 7News
"What if they make use of that fund for financing mobilization of teachers? Would this then not be a move calculated at crippling their ability to move and show their muscle to the government?"

Hon. Patrick Faber, Minister of Education
"Well we don't get into the affairs of the union necessarily, how they fund their activities when it is they decide to go on industrial action is entirely their business. But what we do know is that the teachers contribute to what is deemed a strike fund. What we do know is that in orange walk in 2012, there was a resolution passed by the membership of the BNTU to say that the money of what is deemed to be the strike fund should be used to assist teachers if it is there is a strike and that their salaries are being withheld. I think that everybody can see that it is clear that this is one such situation. So we want the union to be responsible, this thing goes both ways, they have clamored for good government, they have clamored for government to be honest, open and upfront, well let's get that same kind of transparency from them. Let them say to the membership what is really going on with the strike fund money."

Luke Palacio - National President, BNTU
"When you look at the amount of monies they are preparing to withhold, that is the millions of dollars. Our strike fund is far below that, so no way."

So, The only thing that they can agree on right now is that there is need for make up time, but while they accept that the students need to catch up, they can't agree on how the strike teachers will be compensated for it. Here's their rationale on that matter:

Luke Palacio - National President, BNTU
"It is important that the teachers who are on strike be paid their salaries. They have said it over and over. We have articulated it even to managements that the teachers are prepared to make up the time and so we are appealing to the better judgement of those in authority to try and adhere to that request: pay the teachers their salaries, they are prepared to make up the time."

FILE: October 21, 2016
Hon. Patrick Faber, Minister of Education

"The government wants to resolve this matter but it is not as easy as some folks would say. Just pay the teachers', so then what becomes of those teachers who did go to work, are they to be given additional money for the fact that they did go work? And where is that additional money to come from if it is, we're going to use the entire money available for this month to pay the teachers their full salaries. So it's a very difficult situation for us in the government to be in."

Luke Palacio - National President, BNTU
"If the teachers are prepared to make up the time, every time the government officials and the minister made this statement several times yesterday, it is for the children. If it is for the children and the teachers are prepared to make up the time, then we ask the question who is now punishing the children, because if you don't pay the teachers their salaries, they won't make up the time."

We'll tell you in tomorrow's newscast what the BNTU's decision is on the meeting, and if they will soften their stance and send only 5 members to meet with Faber.

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