ABUT President not satisfied with Teacher’s retroactive payments

Teachers across the island have been receiving their retroactive pay.

According to the government, $3 million dollars was paid but Antigua Barbuda Union of Teachers (ABUT) President Casroy Charles says “that it is insufficient”.

Based on the calculations, Charles mentioned that there was shortfall.

This means, in their eyes, the government has yet to satisfy their obligation to teachers.

As a part of their collective bargaining agreement, teachers should have experienced a reclassification of salaries since January of 2024.

That reclassification did not take place until this summer, because of this, retroactive payment is owed to teachers from 2024 up to the date that reclassification came into effect and a change in salary took place.

“So yes, there were some retroactive payments, but I want to make it clear to everyone the payments that were disbursed was insufficient. It was in the media that the government would have paid $3 million in regard to said payments.  However, that’s due to over 1,400 teachers and the least payment, if I can recall for that period, was $2,400 and if you were supposed to divide $2,400 into $3 million, you will see there is a shortfall.

“So, in terms of satisfying the obligation to the teachers in regards to that retroactive payment, it is incomplete. As I speak to you, hundreds of teachers are still awaiting said payment. So my appeal to the government is to honor your obligation, yes, we are appreciative of the fact that over 1,000 persons would have received said payment, but 1,000 is not 1,400 plus. So those persons who are outstanding, they need to be compensated as well, “Charles appealed.

Dialogue has been ongoing in ensuring that all teachers receive their monies “but at this point in time there hasn’t been any definitive dates”.

A frustrating development, Charles added, as this payment should have been dealt with since June.

It is now over two months overdue.

An issue Charles said is something that has been one of the matters that puts a strain on the otherwise amicable relationship between the union and the government.

“The problem we have with the ministry and has always had with the ministry is them meeting deadlines and when they fail to meet the deadlines, it’s not that we pull away from them and say, hey, you haven’t met the deadline, we’re going to take industrial action. That has never been our posture. What we do if they fail to meet the deadline, we alert them that you have failed to meet the deadline...but if, in our opinion, the interventions that are necessary to correct the deficiency or the contravention is insufficient, that’s when we take the stance of industrial action because you would have failed. The onus was on you from the get-go,” Charles concluded.

He was speaking on state media.