Strike action premature, unnecessary – Former SVGTU President

A former president of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Teachers Union (SVGTU) is of the opinion that the industrial action taken by the union last Tuesday was premature and unnecessary.{{more}}

“In my mind they had not exhausted the steps….my question is, striking is a last resort, when you strike now, what would you do next when your demands are not met,” Joy Matthews, who is head teacher of the Belair Government School, told SEARCHLIGHT on Tuesday.

The former SVGTU leader also expressed her shock and confusion at the fact that the decision to take industrial action came from the SVGTU executive and not from its members.

“The general meeting is the one that gives any decision, the highest decision making body…when I heard the president say on the radio that the executive took the decision to strike, we know that is not what it’s supposed to be.”

Matthews said in 2008, members of her executive called for her resignation, stating that they had lost confidence in her capacity to fulfil a mandate given by them to boycott a budget consultation.

She said the issues that she faced back in 2008 are the same issues that have presented themselves to the current president.

However, she is of the opinion that he could have handled the issue with more tact and professionalism.

“I was removed from office simply because I was not in agreement with some decisions that were taken, because I thought they were premature…”

Matthews said that as a president of an institution or organization, one has to exercise a lot of tact and should not say things to further aggravate a situation.

She also stated that the president of the SVGTU needs to be mindful of the fact that he is constantly under the microscope and that statements that he makes are being scrutinized and could impact negatively on what he has set out to do.

Of the 10 teachers on staff at the Belair Government School, four turned up for work on Tuesday.