We also reported yesterday that MOE has pledged to pay teachers' allowances and increments by December 20th. This comes after the BNTU voted to demonstrate in January.
But the PM still believes that the leadership of the union hasn't been transparent with its members and said that they should appreciate that they have the Minister of Education who's willing to sit down at the table every time.
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"We've always been willing to sit down and meet with the BNTU and I don't think I said teachers and if I did I misspoke, I meant the leadership of some leaders in the BNTU, for everything they want to strike, come on man, we have more important things to do. Let's sit down, you have a government that's prepared to work with you and listen to you and do the best we can. I think this has been the most open government the BNTU has ever had and one of the best Ministers of Education that they've had under Minister Fonseca and he goes out of his way to try to deal with them, to meet with them, to work with them and try to meet the requests and their demands. In some of these instances, the cases are merited, I'm not in any way suggesting it's not merited but what is not merited is to say, oh, if we don't get it we will strike. Come to us and see how we can get it worked out and in many instances it is not us, it is the managements that have been sending all the information so we see the BNTU or more importantly, the teachers, are our partners, we are in this things together and I appreciate that at the end of the day level heads will prevail, that to say let's sit down and work it out with the government, we're prepared to do our part and work it out with them, or with all the unions, with everybody."
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