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So, Why Not The Strike Fund?
posted (October 21, 2016)
So, as we told you, the premise of Faber's compromise is that the Union must use its strike fund to come up with the amount to pay all the salaries that would have been cut. If they can't meet the entire amount, that's where the Ministry steps in, and the Government will make up the shortfall.

Here's how Faber explained that:

Hon. Patrick Faber, Minister of Education
"There will be the deductions from the salaries, that has not changed, but yesterday I did write to the president of the BNTU proposing that we might be able to be of assistance to those teachers who were on strike, because we believe that we can assist if the BNTU believes that it can put forward the money that have been withheld as a monthly contribution for the teachers to go into a strike fund. that is our way to make sure that our teachers are comfortable. Especially since the children are at the forefront of whatever it is we are doing here and we believe that there is the need for makeup time to happen. now if it is that teachers aren't paid, especially from the government if the pay is withheld then that question about having teachers go back the classroom to assist overtime to help students to make up time, becomes difficult. If you don't pay more you can't expect them to go back, but if it is that there can be a kind of payment from the strike fund subsidized by the government then that gives us a foot into the negotiations to try to work out make up time for the students. In my response to Mr. Palacio after he indicated that he was unable to make the proposed time, I said to him that I am available to meet any part of the weekend."

Palacio granted an interview last night saying that is not the strike fund's purpose. According to the BNTU President, it is to cover expenses for mobilization of teachers whenever they are on industrial action, not to pay salaries. Today, Faber challenged him on that, saying that the President well knows that a resolution was passed at the 42nd Convention of the BNTU, to amend the use of the strike for just this purpose. Here he is making that point:

Hon. Patrick Faber, Minister of Education
"We believe that the union is being a bit disingenuous on this issue. While Mr. Palacio did not answer me directly to say that the strike fund cannot be used for this issue, I believe he gave an interview to some of the media folks. I certainly saw it on channel 5 and in that interview he was saying that the strike fund doesn't have that as its purpose, that in fact the strike fund is a kind of fund for activities while the teachers are on industrial action. 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. The issue is that we are asking for the union to be responsible to encourage teachers to go on strike, you have been the persons who have done the interviews. You have seen the countless numbers of officials of the union and regular members of the union who have said that they don't care about the deduction of their pay, that in fact the union has their back because they pay a contribution to that strike fund. So we are asking the union to be responsible, 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."

But, is that the only reason for turning attention to the strike fund? We asked the Deputy Prime Minister if there is any move to sap the Union of its financial resources, which then limits their ability to further engage in industrial action. Here's how he answered that one:

Daniel Ortiz, 7News
"What if they make use of that fund for financing mobilization of teachers, financing food and whatever while the teachers are out on strike activities? 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."

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