BIU Calls ‘Urgent’ Education Meeting
The Bermuda Industrial Union has called what it is describing as “an urgent meeting” for all members who work for the Department of Education on Monday [Jan. 16].
Union organiser Louis Somner has called the meeting, which gets underway at 11.30am at the BIU headquarters on Union Street, to discuss two workplace-related matters.
If it is so important call it on a Saturday when school is closed.
Exactly!!!!
So ironic that PLP can’t stand BIU. Or is PLP/BIU? How much time does PLP leadership spend with shop stewards and union leaders? PLP leadership is about Labour right??? Or is PLP really the new UBP?
Or at least after the kids get out. Typically self-centered.
Um missin sumtin here. Why did I not see this 6-8 hours ago.
Bernooze…gatt hit rite…..
Is it exam week? timing sucks thanks B.I.U. just fabulous
This is not the TEACHERS its the Ministry!! Before teachers get bashed again for something they are not doing! BIU not BUT.
Teachers have a voice! They coould stand up and say hey BIU …now really isnt a good time. Can we not do this on MONDAY. How about Friday NIGHT, anytime on Saturday or Sunday! Typical BIU move! Are kids are falling behind and you want to take ANOTHER day of learning away from them.
@Jo Public,
The BUT is the Bermuda Union of Teachers. The BIU is the Bermuda Industrial Union. The teachers are not members of the BIU. The BIU call is most likely for groundskeepers and the like that work under the Dept. of Education, not the teachers.
Ride
Why if it is so urgent id they not call it 13 years ago along with the PLP.
Something in the wind and smells like a fart.
Terry you such a fool
Are any of the meetings ever not ‘urgent’?
Really really Really why can you not have it at 3.30 monday or even sat. if it’s so urgent. You know. BIU, if you gave some things some thought like you often require of management you will get better results. This is a load of crap. Just saying …
You people always seem to put the cart before the horse. The meeting has absolutely nothing to do with TEACHERS. The BIU does,nt speak on behalf of the teachers, They represent custodians and people who work in those areas. So before you all go shooting off about the situation which none of you seem to know anything about get your facts straight.
Regardless of who it is for or what it is about – BIU meetings always seem to take place during the employers time! The Government and the people of Bermuda PAY these BIU members to be AT work at a certain time and performing their job at that time not off site at a meeting. The BIU does not pay them, they benefit from them by collecting dues,. Therefore call the meetings at night or on the weekends?
Well maybe if Bernews would have stated that, we would not be where we are in this discussion.
It’s all leading.
Blame Bernews. They know how most respond. Sh!t.
Education is misleading.
Terry if you along with the others learned to read and understand what you,ve read starting from top left to bottom right and understanding the key words in the sentence you will see that bernews reported acurately.The key words were “ALL MEMBERS” meaning BIU members who work at the department of education. There again I should,nt expect to much more from you.
to, too and two
Thanks Bernews for once again…..not posting my comments.
Great day Ewart.
Do you secretly love Ewart Brown? I think so you know.
well said ‘dont know’. i see everyone is struggling to find the word “oops ” !!!!
I have to admit that I do not understand why BIU meetings are held in teh middle of the day. In all fairness the time should be partially at the expense of the workers and partly at the expense of the employees. therfore they should be held at say, 3:30, with the workers allowed to leave work at 3 pm. If we assume a 30 minute meeting, the employer would lose 30 minutes to allow the employees to get to the meeting on time and the workers would use thei own 30 minutes to actually attend the meeting. It would be interesting to see how many workers actually attend the meeting if it is on their own time.
Sensible adjustments would have to be made for divisions such as the ferries and buses.
Vote For Me, yesterday, a certain government department (BPSU members) held a meeting for staff from 2:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. Should they have held that meeting after 5:00 p.m. or on the weekend?
Do you know of any company or organisation that heolds staff meetings after 5:00 or on weekends?
To my knowledge, every time the BPSU holds a meeting it’s during work hours, but no one seems to complain. Seems like double standards are being expressed here.
Yes, the BPSU should also hold their meetings outside of business hours.
Ms. Furbert-
I’m not sure your questions address the issue.
Consider that a company (or in your example, Government) pays its employees for their time at work, and so has the prerogative to call a meeting whenever it wants. Whether its employees are unionized or not is irrelevant; it is the company’s decision about how they will use the time they are paying for.
The union does not pay for the employees time, and so calling a meeting during working hours is, at the extreme, stealing from the company. The employees’ time, being paid for by the company, is not being used for company purposes, but rather, for union purposes. That holds true for the BIU, the BPSU and any other union.
Certainly, the BPSU should hold union meetings on its own time, not company time. If that has not been the practice, then there should be complaints.
AVP
Very true LaVerne but the BPSU does not cause the island to grind to a hault and disrupt transportation et al.
Subtle differance and their actions are very infrequent.
Techanically speaking you should look at your constitution and see when the approipate times for these kinds of meeting should be held.
There will never be any progress with the BIU no matter which Government is in power because they only hear themselves…….you have irrational people representing the membership who take joy in incoveniecing the public…remember the buses……now they want to inconvenience the kids……….because they think they have the power to run the island. Now is not the time to be pulling any stunts……..there are tons of people hungry for work
The teachers will not be at any of these meetings .. more than likely it for the custodians who are represented by BIU… teachers are represented by BUT. The kids will not be inconvenienced at all.
The BIU represents almost 4,000 workers in Bermuda and the leaders of the BIU listen to the membership, not to other way around.
The BIU workers who are employed by the Department of Education are not responsible for students.
In that case it seems that they have too much time on their hands! How many are there in the DoE and what do they do to improve Education?
BIU workers????I thought the worked for the Department of Education and therefore the people of Bermuda. They do not work for the BIU. We know workers keep you receiving a comfortable salary through their union fees, but make no mistake…..THEY DO NOT WORK FOR YOU. Perhaps It is the mindset of the union direct beneficiaries, that the wokers pay you, therefore they work for you.
So the BIU represents almost 4,000 members? They all must be idiots!
If I were a BIU member and saw the most recently published financial statements, I would quit my membership and would want to kick Chris Furbert’s ass (and yours too if I thought you were complicit).
Mrs. Furbert, as a former BIU member (years ago), who do you think you are kidding. It most surely IS the union leadership influencing the membership. Why do you AND the union continually try to insult the intelligence of the public?!?
It should be well known that BUT & BPSU are separate emtitiis from the BIU there for this meeting does not affect the teaching staff.
That said the headline is also a bit misleading especially to those who do the biggest jumps, jumping to conclusions without applying some thought first.
Fault on the part of both Bernews & bloggers IMO.
Of course the students WILL be affected by this poorly scheduled meeting. Teachers don’t keep the plumbing working & TP in the bathrooms.
It would not be fair for the meeting to be held after 3:30 p.m. because that is the time the BIU members in Education start work. As has been said this is not a meeting for teachers or persons dealing with students.
@ LaVerne Frubert – yes – all the meetings in my organization are outside of working hours. Most are in the evenings and some are at lunchtime. At other times we have our job to do.
Oops – apologies – misspelling of Furbert – just a poor typist – no offense meant.
Don’t worry folks the babysitting service will still be open. You’ll just have to wait a few minutes for someone else to clean their dirt.