The BNTU has announced that they will be having a protest rally on Friday during the House of Representatives meeting. The rally will take place at the UB Gym from 8:30 in the morning to 2 in the afternoon. The demonstration is due to the unpaid increments and allowances that have been a point of contention and frustration for the teachers. Their concerns have been voiced to the ministry many times, and the MOE has met with them on multiple occasions. The problem, we gather, now resides with the school managements. Today we asked the minister if he was disappointed by the decision to protest.
Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education
"I mean, listen, the BNTU, their mandate is to advocate for their membership. We, I think, operated in good faith. I think the BNTU will tell you that the ministry has operated in absolute good faith. We have sat there on the table with them, respectfully, we have been very transparent. We have tried to respond to every issue that they have raised, December, and in January we met again early. So, you know, I wouldn't say disappointed. You know, I always thought that, you know, regardless of what we did, that there would be some action taken. So, you know, that's their right. That's their right. And that's their mandate from their membership. So they have to carry it out. You know, but I do believe that the great majority of teachers, I believe the Council of Management of the BNTU recognize that this Ministry of Education is doing everything possible to address the concerns of our teachers and to respond to the issues that they have raised for them as priority issues. So, I think they know that we have been operating in good faith. We have treated them with respect. We have listened and we have responded. So I think, that's our message."
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