And while we had the Deputy PM in front of the camera - we had to ask him about the recent hardline taken by the BNTU. They sent out a press release last week saying that he was a part of a ministerial boycott of the Public Accounts Committee. At that point, Faber had already told the news that there was no boycott, it was absence due to illness on the part of his 3 ministerial colleagues who are PAC members. But the teachers union didn't buy it; they took the Opposition's line and blazed up the Government for a boycott. Today, we asked Faber for his thoughts on the hardline stance taken by the BNTU:...
Hon. Patrick Faber- Minister of Education
"When that release was put out by the BNTU they didn't bother to check with the government. I don't know that they contacted the clerk or attempted to ask anybody who is on the committee whether or not there was a boycott. They determined that based on the release that was put out by the opposition members. So it has to beg the question, and we have suspected that this has been the case, that they are wrapped up very tightly with the opposition party. In fact, you will see that their favorite lawyer in all their deliberations, all of their protests is with Eamon Courtenay who you now see showing his true colors all over the place. So they are wrapped up very tightly with the opposition. Listen, as we look at some of the ills of the education system there is a lot to be desired in terms of what teachers need to be doing. And I'm not criticizing the teachers necessarily on this point but the union is supposed to be championing the cause of the teachers and they have gone silent on advancing the development of teachers in this country. They seem to be in the business now of trying to interfere in the wider national politics, which is not a crime if you are taking care of your constituents at home but they seem to have neglected completely the number one job of the union which is to look out for the best interest of the professional service of the teachers. I'll give you a simple example, the law says; the education and training act of 2010 says that a member of the national assembly cannot be a member of the Teaching Services Commission which everyone now knows is the chief body that governs the services of teachers in this country. There cannot be another priority that is more important to the teachers union than ensuring that somebody is sitting on that entity, their president is the person whom they have traditionally sent. But because their president is a senator, a member of the national assembly, that person now cannot fill the seat on the TSC. And they prefer to hold on to the national spotlight as opposed to taking on their primary role of looking out for the services of teachers."
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