Antigua and Barbuda: Public school teachers protest over years of unpaid allowances

Antigua and Barbuda Union of Teachers (ABUT) staged an industrial action against the government over years of unpaid allowances and other benefits. The teachers at the public schools launched the protest on Monday and asked the government to address their demands as their allowances are pending since 2018. 

The call for action was given by the union through a press release as they noted that the Ministry of Education is given a deadline to initiate talks with the teachers and fulfill their demands. The protest began on Friday at midday and the Union’s President Casroy Charles added that the industrial action was taken after the Ministry of Education has failed to deliver outstanding payments by noon of the day. 

As per the union, partial payments were made, but the government failed to fulfill the payment demands for numerous teachers as their allowances are still unpaid. Antigua and Barbuda Union of Teachers added that they vowed to continue the strike until all payments are received.

 Union categorizes unpaid teacher allowances 

The union also outlined three categories of allowances that have not been paid for several years. The allowances included the “Technical Vocational Disciplines Allowances” which has covered the period from 2018 to 2024. The second one included “Travel and Telephone Allowances” which is designed for Principals and Deputy Principals for the years 2018 to 2023. 

The third and the last category for the payment allowances included the Outstanding Ex gratia Payments for Heads of Department for the period from 2018 to 2021. Due to the protest, the operations at the primary and secondary public schools have been disrupted as the classes are without teachers. 

The parents and students extended their frustration in a state of uncertainty as their studies have been disrupted due to the disturbance among the teachers and students. The Union noted that they will continue their sit-in as they need a satisfactory resolution regarding the overdue payments.