The Tribune

By FAY SIMMONS

TRIBUNE Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

THE BAHAMAS Union of Teachers (BUT) president yesterday told members to “put your tennis back in the house” after the union reached a deal with the Government, ending the immediate threat of industrial action that had been hanging over the education sector.

The remarks came just days after BUT members were placed on industrial action alert following their rejection of the Government’s latest financial counter-proposal, with the union warning that teachers were prepared to take further action if outstanding issues were not resolved.

But, after emerging from a round of negotiations at the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday, Mrs Wilson said the outstanding financial matters had been settled and the union had completed its negotiations for a five-year deal.

“So, members, you can put your tennis back in the house, your umbrellas back in the house. We’ve gotten what it is that you sent us for,” said Mrs Wilson.

The agreement includes a maximum teacher salary of $54,000, lump-sum payments of $700 in year three and $750 in year five, and hardship allowances for teachers who relocated to the Family Islands. Southern island teachers will receive an extra $2,500, while northern island teachers will receive $1,800.

Mrs Wilson said the union had also succeeded in securing hardship allowances for islands that had previously been left out.

“The outstanding financial matters that we had were all addressed. We’ve signed off on them, and so now we have teachers who will get the maximum salary scale of $54,000,” she said. “We were wrangling over a lump sum payment in year three, a lump sum payment in year five. We were able to agree to both of them.

“We had some of our islands that were left off from hardship allowances, so we were able to get those in. So we are very pleased today that we have completed our negotiations.”

The agreement will cover five years, from July 1, 2025, to 2030, with Mrs Wilson stressing either party can return to the negotiating table within three years.

“We’ll just have the document cleaned up, and in a few days we should be able to sign off,” she said. “And we did agree to the five-year agreement, with a caveat that either party can come back to the negotiation table within three years.”

Mrs Wilson said the BUT had been working for almost a year to secure what she described as the best industrial agreement for its members.

“We’ve gotten what it is that you sent us for, and we want to thank the Government and our negotiating team for the hard work that we have done for almost one year now to ensure that we got the best industrial agreement,” she said.

Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister and minister of education, science and technology. confirmed that the agreement concluded the negotiations.

“I’m happy to report that as a result of those discussions, we have agreement with the Bahamas Union of Teachers. That concludes the negotiation, and we now can confirm that we are working harmoniously together to drive the revolution in education that I’ve been speaking about,” said Mr Cooper. “This is a positive outcome. It’s a great day for education.”