Comments on: Teachers Union To “Engage In Industrial Action”

By: Jules

Jules — Mon, 25 Aug 2014 01:52:22 +0000

Any threat of industrial action by educators simply ups the numbers of students leaving the public system and flocking to the private system.

By: Cinderella

Cinderella — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 10:54:47 +0000

Mr. Scott et al, please find a copy of “THE STUDENT’S COMPANION”, our book of correct use of the English language, and make that mandatory reading for yourself and all those teaching our students before the next semester.

Those of us who practice good communication daily are part of your audience. This is to help you look as sharp in print as you do in person.

By: Sick n Tired

Sick n Tired — Fri, 22 Aug 2014 00:06:10 +0000

Oh please . . . while at the same time hiring more and more consultants and taking luxurious trips on the tax payer dollar!!!!!!!!

By: Voter (original)

Voter (original) — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 23:38:47 +0000

Lose, not loose. Quite different things! I.e. “I let the dog loose to run around” vs “when did you lose your keys?”

By: Creamy

Creamy — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 20:40:07 +0000

So a strike is announced prior to consulting the membership. Gotcha.

By: Creamy

Creamy — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 20:38:08 +0000

They announced industrial action before the membership even knows what the issue is. That much is clear. So much for your “intricate workings”.

It’s not “private” for obvious reasons. Our kids have to go to school.

By: Noncents

Noncents — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 18:18:04 +0000

@ Caramel. While I agree with the majority of your statement.. yo have completely missed the point regarding “safer skies”. Suggesting air traffic controllers played any part in 9/11 is ridiculous.

By: Noncents

Noncents — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 18:02:09 +0000

Agreed- I would never blame Chris for a strike that is being done using proper protocol. Notice for a strike- laughable.

By: Caramel

Caramel — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 17:48:08 +0000

Blanket statement yet again!

In all professions you will always have some who are in it for the “job.” I can only speak from an Educators point of view and say Ms. Smith, that many Educators are in the profession for Education; unfortunately, the majority get lumped into one negative category.

I encourage you and plead with you to seek out Educators who are in the profession for our children and believe me there are many. In those classrooms, you will find children who want to succeed and are passionate about their future endeavors.

Your comment; “…indicative that teaching is not longer a calling but a job,” is disappointing.

By: LOL (Original TM*)

LOL (Original TM*) — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 16:06:53 +0000

thank you been saying this for years as I watch teacher, parent and the ministry point fingers at each other for passed fails but at the end of the day none of these groups actually communicate in an effective manner to improve the issues with education. As a parent however teachers who do not respond to emails/calls when I have questions about things happening in class or other issues can make the situation fustrating. I can not speak for the ministries frustrations or the teachers, but I do appreciate that the job is stressfull to say the least. That is why teachers need to be highly motivcated, positive people full of energy I guess.

LOL

By: PBanks

PBanks — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 16:04:51 +0000

Only if things get resolved before a strike happens. At least parents and the public are aware. So pressure should now be on the sides involved to sort it out.

By: LOL (Original TM*)

LOL (Original TM*) — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 16:00:18 +0000

You mean tell that to the PLP for spending all the money and the OBA had no choice but to institute some cost cutting messures inorder to pay off the interest on the debt and the debt that the PLP racked up. Those furlough days? If that is the case they are venting to the wrong group.

LOL

By: Hmmm

Hmmm — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 15:22:50 +0000

Education is the responsibility of the Government, teachers, parent and the student.

By: Interested

Interested — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 15:13:23 +0000

I couldn’t have put it better, Caramel. Perhaps Kangoocar should take a drive and base his/her comments on factual observations before speaking about graduation rates and implying that we are not doing our jobs as educators. “Find teachers from anywhere….”, really? There goes a plug for foreign employment once again. No further commentary needed.

By: Interested

Interested — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 15:07:00 +0000

Please note, that casting a net over all educators is a gross misjudgment. The vast majority of teachers are not teaching for the money but are guided by their passion. In any organization there are weak links which must be dealt with accordingly.

By: sonso

sonso — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 14:50:47 +0000

And you KEEP spelling you name wrong, mate!

By: LOL (Original TM*)

LOL (Original TM*) — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 14:47:09 +0000

Interesting that the Ministry says the schools will be ready on time so the facilities are ready and now the teachers are not (read another union) to work, why? For what reason?

LOL really wondering about this one

By: PBanks

PBanks — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 13:58:00 +0000

At least it’s notice of a strike vs downing tools without notice. There’s a chance of the parties getting around the table now and ironing out the problems before students and parents are negatively affected.

By: huh?

huh? — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 13:22:05 +0000

huh?

By: Edmund Wells

Edmund Wells — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 13:21:40 +0000

This is very strange.

Good on BUT for advance notice.

Bad on BUT for, apparently, not consulting with its members.

And, after all of the assurances from Ms. Furbert, Mr. Furbert, Mr. Williams and other BIU leaders about how, in that union, only members (and not the executive) can call for industrial action , how is the BUT different? Does its executive call for industrial action, and the members must comply?

Or have both unions strayed so far from their initial, noble purpose of protecting workers’ rights, become intoxicated with their sense of political power and otherwise become as bad as the managements that sparked their creation years ago?

By: Enigma

Enigma — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 13:18:56 +0000

Please do not jump to conclusions. If you can recall, under Dr. Brown, it was decided that teachers will no longer go on wildcat strikes, hence the 30 day strike notice. Teachers are on vacation so it is impossible to call a meeting. I am sure upon their return there will be a meeting but in the meantime strike notice has been given. This issue might be resolved before September 2. Seems to me giving a strike notice effective September 2 is a smart move by the Union, especially if the disciplinary issue has been ongoing. I am sure the Department of Education are now paying attention.

By: North West

North West — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 13:09:27 +0000

The union never said there will be a strike!

By: Triangle Drifter

Triangle Drifter — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 13:08:43 +0000

This type of behavior is the norm for the BIU. Nothing better is expected of them but somehow a higher standard of ethics is expected of the teachers union leaders.

Oh well, same creature, different tentacles.

By: serengeti

serengeti — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 11:54:25 +0000

Sounds like Tricks and 7 of her colleagues had no knowledge of a vote. Was it a decision taken in secret?

By: Yahoo

Yahoo — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 11:48:47 +0000

Terry is an incoherent babbling fool. Just ignore him and move on. Trying to figure out his gibberish is akin to trying to decipher Alvin Williams’ nonsense!

By: Starting point

Starting point — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 11:30:58 +0000

Are the admin staff under the same union? If so then it might be possible that an admin staff was disciplined and that section of the union is issuing the notice?

I do not see how the teachers are involved when consensus from teachers posting in here is that they are unaware of any union meeting etc.

Perhaps today will provide more info.

By: Starting point

Starting point — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 11:28:01 +0000

Nice to hear you agree that the Unions and OBA are the same then.

By: Tricks Are For Kids

Tricks Are For Kids — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 11:26:10 +0000

Many of us are not aware of any such action…… however if it scheduled for September 2nd that will occur PRIOR to the students starting on the 8th…..Again I stress that no vote has taken place and this announcement has taken many of us by surprise…

By: Unaware Teacher

Unaware Teacher — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 11:19:41 +0000

The majority of Bermuda Public School teachers are dedicated to their jobs and do their best everyday to be the best teacher they can be given their circumstances. I for one do not want to strike for a person who has been on disciplinary leave/action more than once for whatever reason. And yes there are a lot of POOR teachers out there too who just show up to get pay cheques. But do not put all teachers in the same category!!

By: Tricks Are For Kids

Tricks Are For Kids — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 11:19:13 +0000

No vote has been taken in regards to this…..

By: Bozey

Bozey — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 10:26:18 +0000

Mmm with the info being so vague and many teachers not having any knowledge of this, I wonder if it is just one school….

By: Kim Smith

Kim Smith — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 10:24:43 +0000

Any planned industrial action by teachers at the beginning of the school year is disgraceful and indicative that teaching is no longer a calling but just another job.

By: filobedo21

filobedo21 — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 10:06:19 +0000

@Tricks are you kids, so did you miss the vote?

By: The threatened action ....

The threatened action .... — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 09:53:40 +0000

The threatened action is scheduled for “next month” when the kids are back in school.

All I want to know is whether or not the union bylaws let the union deliver a strike notice without the approval of the membership.

By: In fairness ....

In fairness .... — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 09:51:34 +0000

In fairness, this seems to be strictly the responsibility of the union (as opposed to the teachers). If other commenters are to be believed the teachers themselves know nothing about this. It’s the union that has delivered notice of industrial action next month (i.e., when the kids are supposed to be back in school). And they’ve apparently done so without consulting their members (question – is that even allowed under the Union’s bylaws?)

They don’t say anything beyond claiming it’s due to a disciplinary matter but that’s par for the course for the unions on the island. Discipline an employee for any reason and you can expect a strike.

By: Creamy

Creamy — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 08:41:44 +0000

For the excuses?

By: Creamy

Creamy — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 08:40:55 +0000

So you can’t deny the unions are run as dictatorships. FLMFAO.

You’re still spelling your name wrong. Ditch the last letter.

By: Come On Man

Come On Man — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 02:32:25 +0000

It doesn’t take long before the OBA or PLP get into the conversation.

By: micro

micro — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 02:30:54 +0000

That means you will not be partaking in the action then?

By: Um just saying

Um just saying — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 02:22:55 +0000

Please wait until the entire story comes out. You ppl should be fit from ‘jumping’ to conclusions. Industrial action does not always mean a strike! Our children may not even be adversely affected.

By: Um just saying

Um just saying — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 02:15:10 +0000

Tell that to govt who initiated the mandatory furlough days. Teachers miss even more days away from educating our children. So when we fight for ourselves, its a problem?

By: L. Milton Scott

L. Milton Scott — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 02:03:25 +0000

Take it easy everyone. I teacher has been fired. Mr. James is a fair and reasonable person and provides sound leadership. The BUT never takes industrial action short of a strike or a strike without having a meeting of its membership. And for a strike there has to be a secret ballot. It is obvious that loosing ones job for what the BUT’s Executive probably feels is unfair, is a serious issue, especially if you are the person who has lost your job. And when a teacher looses a job they also loose a career. Let’s wait for the details to unfold.

By: Kangoocar

Kangoocar — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 01:32:37 +0000

What part of when I said ” If THEY DONT show up for work, then fire the lot of them ” did you miss??? I simply meant , THOSE that don’t SHOW UP for work, be fired!!!!! And secondly, 9/11 was caused by a bunch of nasty Muslims that hijacked a few planes, the air traffic controllers did not have anything to do with it!!!! You seriously are an educator???
I do agree with you though on one of your points, that is the point you made about parents /guardians, I 110% agree with you, because that is a major problem in this and many other communities, many parents are NOT willing to do their part and put the time in and we all see how the vast majority of kids are leaving high school totally unprepared for their futures and society is and will in the foreseeable future be paying a big price for that!!!!

By: Sick n Tired

Sick n Tired — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 01:11:50 +0000

To all my colleagues who have responded here, please keep in mind that we are a union of teachers who pay dues, and the intricate workings of our union is of our business and no one else. Please do not entertain persons like Terry and Kango whatever his name is as all they do is find things that are adverse to the OBA/UBP to complain about. We all know how our union functions, hence the inner workings of our union should and need to remain private until we as a body make it public.

By: Triangle Drifter

Triangle Drifter — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 01:07:08 +0000

Nah, Tweedy is already making that profession look bad.

By: We shall see...

We shall see... — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 01:05:43 +0000

I look forward to hearing more details about the ‘disciplinary matter’. My child is at a school in which a teacher was disciplined for assaulting a child – apparently it wasn’t the first time… not only am I disgusted, but I (also an educator) would like to know why the BUT stands behind teachers of this sort. I was recently talking to someone in the private school who shared with me that a training teacher was not up to their standards, and low and behold, the teacher landed a middle school job in the public school system! Blows my mind, but I really need to educate myself as to what can be done about lousy teachers… but I will wait to hear about what is going on like everyone else.

By: Dumb it Down

Dumb it Down — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 00:35:05 +0000

Teachers on summer vacation…No class!!! Lol sorry I had to sneak that one in.

By: Kunta

Kunta — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 00:26:17 +0000

Cant blame Chris for this one.

By: Kunta

Kunta — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 00:24:37 +0000

And like O.B.A./ubp who refused to have a Referendum when they promised, keeping B.T.A. information a secret(which is Govt. funding by TAX PAYERS), suspending contracts that were granted by Legislating a trumped up Law to benefit Friends and Family and its too depressing to go on with de other Bull S—.
Oh you were saying about Dictatorship……..
LMFAO

By: Swimfan

Swimfan — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 00:23:08 +0000

No information. No meeting. No email. No vote. No action as far as I can see!