B.U.T. Disappointed With Department’s Decision
The Bermuda Union of Teachers said they are “dismayed by the Department of Education’s haste to enact sanctions against teachers in the Bermuda Public School System.”
A spokesperson said, “Recent comments in the press about efforts to accelerate the formation of a Transformation Team for the School for Exceptionalities, with the goal of better serving students requiring specialized support, ring hollow when the DOE moves to deduct pay from the staff at Dame Marjorie Bean Hope Academy at the same time the comments are made public.
“Talk of this acceleration largely occurring because of staffs’ advocacy for students both through written, verbal, and other forms of action borders on hypocrisy when it comes on the same day that staff received notice they will be deducted for that very same advocacy.
“The irony heightens when we consider the many months that the DAME staff has had the same grievances – serious safety concerns that have gone unaddressed for a dangerous amount of time. Yet, pay deductions come swiftly, and with little-to-no consideration of the desperation that the DAME staff has lived with daily.
“It is a sad day when the DoE prioritizes wage deductions over addressing the issues. Many of the issues—communication, transparency, leadership, and safety—remain unresolved at this point. Further, we find it interesting that the DoE is able to organize wage deductions for the pay period immediately following this action, but teachers across the system are still awaiting payment for work completed in September 2024!
“Also, teachers are awaiting contracts, multiple classrooms are without teachers or proper ventilation, there’s broken or inadequate equipment everywhere, some teachers are awaiting re-categorization that the CoE signed off on last school year, and the list goes on – but penalizing staff for student advocacy gets actioned with priority.”
Read More About
Category: All
