The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

HUNDREDS of teachers are still owed back pay, according to Bahamas Union of Teachers president Belinda Wilson.

She said that to date the majority of the members who applied for the retention bonus as per the industrial agreement have received payments ranging from $1,500 to $3,000 respectively.

“We expect the remainder of the members to receive their retention bonus payments in January 2023. However, the Bahamas Union of Teachers is still very concerned about hundreds of teachers who are owed back pay. Many of whom have attained higher qualifications that more often than not, results in an increment and or a salary adjustment,” she told The Tribune on Thursday last week.

“Some await confirmation, reclassification and reassessment, salary progressions, salary adjustments, rental allowances, coaching allowances, disturbance allowances, hardship allowances, gratuity, payments for marking national examinations such as BJC, BGCSE and GLAT and other responsibility allowances. I have not received any information that funds have been paid recently.

“I am aware that there is a task force that is dedicated to working and processing files for members of the Bahamas Union of Teachers and I received an updated list from the queries I submitted to Ministry of Education and the Ministry of the Public Service. There is a meeting scheduled early in the new year to discuss the long list of outstanding Human Resources matters with a view to having them resolved in the shortest time.”

Mrs Wilson reiterated that teachers, teacher’s aides, guidance counselors and librarians are negatively impacted when they are not receiving the correct salary or no salary or if they are not in receipt of their letters of confirmation.

Last month, Wilson said some teachers in her union are owed an estimated $1.5m in back pay from the government. She previously stated the Department of Education is “really lacking” in the human resources area.

She said this time around there must be improvements made to the human resource process.

“If the BUT asks all teachers owed funds to withdraw their labour then the full impact of how many teachers are owed monies would be astonishing. We are not asking for money that teachers have not earned. These are funds that they have already worked for.

“I impress upon the Ministry of Education to pay the teachers what is owed to them as soon as possible. Our patience is wearing thin. Education should be the number one priority not a second thought.”