SVGTU seeks to establish long-term collective agreement with Government

The St Vincent and the Grenadines Teachers’ Union (SVGTU) plans to engage the Government, so that a modern collective agreement that would hold for the next few years would be signed.

So said the union’s first vice-president Vibert Lampkin, when he addressed teachers at the opening of this year’s Summer Institute at the Peace Memorial Hall last week.{{more}}

Lampkin told teachers that the last collective agreement with the Government was signed in 2005 and is now outdated.

“The life of a collective agreement in our context is two years; so from 2005 onwards to now, we have been trying desperately… to have another agreement signed with the Government; to date we have been unsuccessful,” he said.

According to him, there have been administrative and technical barriers that are preventing the union from having a new collective agreement signed. He said that outside the perimeters of the collective agreement, the SVGTU operates in a system where “anything and everything goes” because they do not have the shelter or bordering of the collective agreement.

Lampkin added that since 2005, the dynamics of education have changed and circumstances dictate that the union should engage in another round of negotiations for a new collective agreement.

The union’s vice-president said the union turns to the agreement for their positions of employment, remuneration, health and safety in and out of the classroom, protocols and policies that the Government has as it relates to education.

“From our standpoint we are clearing our mind [as to] what we want as a trade union; we have spoken to our members over and over as it relates to that, so we are prepared for now… to have a new collective agreement signed.”

The vice-president said that the organization would go forward as a union with this in mind.

Additionally, he mentioned that salary negotiations have eluded the SVGTU over many years, noting that salaries for public servants and teachers are legislated by the Government, adding that they have not been at the negotiation table with the Government for over 15 years.

“Instead we have had, like all the other public servants, a percentage that the Government comes up with and says this is what the public servants would receive.”

Lampkin added that any trade union that calls itself a trade union and does not engage in negotiations is missing a big chunk out of what it ought to be doing as a trade union.

He said that salary negotiations and collective bargaining are two pillars that trade unions should stand on and the SVGTU are standing on neither at the moment.

The first vice-president said the time has come when the union needs to approach the authorities and let them know that their concern is not just the concern of the union’s executive, but of all members.

“That we ought to be not just about trade unionism, but ought to be a solid trade union and this year we need to look towards the authority to ensure that the process, as it relates to collective bargaining and salary negotiations, are put firmly and squarely, front and centre on the bargaining table” said Lampkin.

He told teachers that they could work together to ensure that they are better served as members of the SVGTU.

When Minister of Education St Clair ‘Jimmy’ Prince spoke at the ceremony, he challenged the union to put equal emphasis, when talking about quality of education, on the teaching and professional aspect of it and on people becoming dedicated to the task, which they have set themselves as teachers.

Prince said he doubts that there has been a point where the optimal payment for teachers has been reached.

“I’ve seen teachers do work which I say I would never do; you’re a nurse, doctor, parent, you’re a counsellor, every single thing in one and we take that for granted; you must be commended,” he added.

He, however, stated that there are some teachers who go through the motions and the children suffer, adding that this is why the professional development courses are important.

The Minister of Education also stated that he is working on a way to reward teachers who go out of their way to ensure that the system works.

“We must be able to say to some teachers who are doing good work: ‘Listen we appreciate what you’re doing, you stand out and you make us proud, we need to tell you that’.”

Prince said the ministry is working on ways to do that, adding that there is a committee that would find a way to complete the task.

The agreement signed in 2005 granted teachers from mainland assigned to the Grenadines additional allowances for accommodation.

Also, teachers of grades one to five were given increases in allowances from $480 to $590, while teachers of grade five and above, including tutors at the School of Nursing, were paid $710, an upgrade of $110.

Graduate teachers at the School for Children with Special Needs received an annual sum of $1,000. (AS)