WHEN IS A SICK-OUT NOT A SICK-OUT?

It has been widely reported this week that teachers all over the island staged a sick-out on Tuesday, following the Teachers’ Union meeting at the National Cultural Centre the day before. Evidently SLTU President Julian Monrose was not informed. When this reporter invited him to comment on the presumed protest action, he answered with a question of his own: “What sick-out? Had there been a sick-out, it would be more than one day, I can tell you.” 

He offered this clarification: “Teachers had called to say they were sick. There is a memo describing what happened on Tuesday. I will email it to you.”  The email never arrived. I received instead a WhatsApp message from the SLTU’s president that reads in part: “It has been brought to the attention of the SLTU this morning that teachers are feeling sick/unwell. The SLTU understands the situation, given the fact that you work under such strenuous conditions with little support from the employer. We also understand the debilitating effect that some of our school plants have on your health. On top of all this, we understand the additional stress that you feel not knowing when you will be afforded a salary increase that would help you cushion the pressures of everyday living.  All of these have serious implications for the wellness of teachers.”

We have no way of knowing when the above was written or disseminated; neither the number of teachers who received it, and when. The promised email would have been far more useful to this reporter. The STAR can, however, confirm that as of Friday morning the SLTU was of the view that its meeting on Thursday with the Government Negotiating Team (GNT) went well and that there are no plans for a strike or sick-out. The union also says the GNT has promised to re-engage them in the next two to three weeks.–