Nearly two weeks have passed since the BSTU instituted action against the principal of the Alexandra School Jeff Broome. Up to late yesterday [14 Jan 2012] there appeared to be no resolution to the matter. A meeting held under the chairmanship of Minister of Education Ronald Jones only served to proved BU’s position, management systems in Barbados have become seriously compromised as a result of incestuous practices by stakeholders.
It is clear the BSTU Executive believes so strongly in their cause that they are prepared to disrupt the relatively calm industrial relations climate in Barbados even if the children have to be made to suffer in the process. Their position is further demonstrated by a deliberate move away from following ‘normal’ grievance procedure. Regrettably the matter is deliberately being waged in the court of public opinion. While there are advantages to enticing public support sometimes, it should be done based on the full facts of the matter being revealed. It is evident that the cause of the industrial action by the BSTU is as a result of grievances which have been poorly managed over the years and left to fester. The speech day incident appears to be the straw which broke the camel’s back.
If we are to believe the underground chatter there is more to the mortar than the pestle. If local media intends to give honest coverage to this matter the public deserves to be seized of relevant information. If this is not possible because of legal considerations then the honourable thing is to avoid inflammatory reports like those we have been reading in the NATION for the past week.
Two peripheral issues created by the Alexandra matter, the roles of the Chief Personnel Officer (CPO) and the ailing General Secretary of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) need to be given more public scrutiny.
The role of the CPO has not been given a lot of airplay except by Caswell on the blog Alexandra School Impasse: A Massive Failure Of Public Service Administration. Most public opinion has followed a predictable political discourse by calling for the head of the minister of education. We can agree however that the office of MOE should have been used to exert more pressure on the parties to clean up their act. We have already discussed how incestuous relationships affect how we do business as a country and here is a classic case.
The other matter is the role of Dennis Clarke, NUPW’s general secretary reported to be on leave until May because he is recovering from haemorrhagic fever. Although not unprecedented it is unusual the NUPW would seek to represent management [Broomes] in a matter against labour [teachers]. It is even more unusual that a senior principal in the union [Clarke] currently on sick leave would seek to undermine the person [Smith] appointed to act in the position. Again if BU chatter is correct the council of the NUPW has not met to approve the decision taken by Clarke. What is going on at the NUPW anyway? Is the membership not aware of how union business is being managed?
On the sidelines looking in what is a public ignorant and starved of the facts suppose to think or say? The time has come for Barbadians to wake up and fully appreciate how they are being ‘played’ by the many interest groups which run things in Barbados.
301 responses to “The Alexandra Matter: The Role Of The CPO and NUPW”
What madness is this? Yesterday the PM was going to sove this matter . Now I hear it is back to Jones and a few cabinet members. Some one explain why we are going back instead of going forward? If it goes to the PM it stays there. Is this part of the inertia and toing and froing which we must suffer. Fruendel do sonething! Think on these things
@chocolate hussle
call me stupid b ut i would have stood up to that mcguffy in more ways than one as a p;ayback for all the advantage he poured on former and present employees fuh sure we wouldn’t be having this conversation now and the only way to get his attention would be to fight fire with fire. Jeff broomes got all wunna a.sss lickers fooled..The teacher was not going to be intimated by his uncoofed and lack of managerial style, in bmy opinion she was too kind to Jeff. Wunna could keep playing “THE CHILDREN CARD” all wunna want but had not for Jeff oppressive and reactionary behaviuor is the reason the children are suffering today. . Jeff Broomes spells TROUBLE
We mentioned in an earlier comment the PM needs to insulate himself from this matter which has the potential to get nastier.
either the PM is or he isn’t no time for PM to back peddle now. He throw himself into the fray. However vegas odds would give a30% chance for his intervention
It should be of great interest to hear from the Chairman of the Board of Management of the school Mr Keith Simmons on this matter. His views on Broomes’ stewardship should give valuable insight into the conduct of the man who once threatened to bar his entry to the school unless he was coming to sign a cheque.
The half has not been told about the totally erratic behaviour of Jeff Broomes . He should however have no difficulty in pursuing a public relations career if he is forced to leave Alexandra. It is amazing how he has successfully conned a whole nation of Barbadians who seem to think that as a principal, he is a paragon of virtue. HEAVEN HELP US ALL.
@true to form
I have to admit, I share your exact sentiments. It has now become an internal DLP issue too. Stupse.
@Watching Carefully
in support….
IT BOGGLES THE MIND !!!!
ONLY TIME WILL TELL
islandgal246
Only sick minded person would play the gender card, all of you know the lady was wrong BUT SHE IS A WOMAN so SHE RIGHT. That’s all it is. I’ve heard it before and the P.M alluded to it it is the Man vs the WOMAN playing out here and some of you MS before you name (MS= MAN SOMETIMES), really think that you are greater than a man and can do without one , thanks to the modern devices many of you use.
Boy I like my country, mek a mistake? Dont back down, be bullish to the end.If it wasn’t children getting the short end of the stick the whole thing would be hilarious. Yet as sad as the situation with AX got me, I cant but laugh at the next issue on the agenda where the BSTU going try to bully CXC (lol) .”We gun withdraw we markers ” as if that will hurt anyone but our own children. Give the other islands another excuse to be extra meticulous (grade like big rocks) when grading our children papers why dont you… One thing I yet to understand though is how the teacher mark the SBAs, send in the marks but not the samples? he put the SBAs in a safe and lost de combination? I thought you would have the SBAs there in front you when you enter the marks but maybe he pull the marks from the sky in the 1st place.I like how the apologists at the BSTU say ‘all dat was missing’ as if samples are something minor. The teacher in question get fire ? maybe a stern talking to.Oh i forget yuh cant tell them so nothing.
@ Everybody
Somebody spring the trap earlier….the deer ..got a scent of pending troubles from reading BU and ..tek off like a hare rabbit.
Good thing my ole fellow…good thing..
The Mary Redman woman got a man? She probably needs one fast.
I can’t believe that Minister Ronald Jones was ever a president of a trade union. He should know that he is currently performing the statutory role of the Chief Labour Officer. He should have directed his permanent secretary to report matter to the Chief Labour Officer rather than usurp those functions. If and when the CLO fails to bring the parties together, he would refer the matter to the Minister of LABOUR: NOT JONES!
If Jones really wanted a quick settlement, he would stay away since the teachers involved have no confidence in him. Rightly or wrongly, they believe that he deceived them when he intervened the last time Broomes’s moon was full. If you speak to any of them they will tell you that he is Broomes’s friend.
The Knowledge
Why should she be considered wrong, when she have Mary Redman to say she’s right and ready to cause havoc if CXC don’t accept them? There is a real sight of anarchy hitting this island. All a teacher from another school has to do is defy the principals ruling and if he reports it or speak about it HE TOO WILL BE SEPARATED.
Missed the news.
Who from the Cabinet will lead the negotiations?
Are the ministers blessed with IR/Employee Relations expertise?
Are the ministers selected from the Eager 11?
@Scout
All we know fuh sure is that the man at the centre of this debacle was the “CAUSE: fuh all dat is happening Now all the other problems started before Amanda, Jeff is a “PIT BULL! he must be muzzled or shot ! choose your pick. Woman are not door mats to be used and abuse at will. BTW Scout what business is it of yours how a woman enjoy hers sexual practices sounds like you ain’t had none in a long time
It is quite clear that Ms Redman’s position is that any matter that is not adjudicated in her favour remains unresolved. The woman actually seems to be convinced that the purpose of negotiations is to have the other side come around to her way of thinking….
…she is family to you ac? LOLOLOL
Now she says that she is waiting on the PM to come and settle the matter (by doing what she wants..) or she ‘will have no option but to call out the other schools…. LOLOLOL if it wasn’t so sad it would be funny.
The SOLUTION:
1 – It requires a REAL man who will immediately ORDER all teachers back to their jobs or have the position declared vacant as there is NO ISSUE on the table to justify a strike.
2 – All parties ORDERED to a meeting with a REAL chairMAN who will lay down the law on what is required for the BUSINESS OF TEACHING OUR CHILDREN
3 – Monthly review of performance of all parties with immediate decisive disciplinary action at all signs of idiocy.
4 – Salaries of strikers docked for all time off work
5 – Major shakeup at the MOE with all involved demoted and sent back to teaching where ever possible.
6 – Arrest for any union leaders or teachers who defy the imposed solution.
Matter fixed.
It is interesting how the public is now becoming aware of what is happening in the schools. Some Principals, influential cliques and some secretary- treasurers have been controlling the finances and the hiring of their friends and family members for a long time in the secondary schools. Nepotism is rife. How many persons out there know that there is a possibility of attending the Erdiston Teachers College for two years and be paid without any true connection to a school? Ask any teacher presently training at Erdiston Teachers College or any teacher connected to a rural secondary school. With the right connections you can get a salary without a teaching position.
@ac
A Daniel, a second Daniel indeed……Merchant of Venice again
Thank you for putting somebody in their rightful place.
@Bushie
The SOLUTION:
1 – It requires a REAL man who will immediately ORDER all teachers back to their jobs”
Eliminated automatically>>>> THE MAN FROM UNCLE…and others
What is unbelievable is the ability to have this Jykle and Hyde character to be so nice to who he wants (public) but so nasty to those he led at AX.
@ Bushie
Mrs. Redman is too polite and wellmannered a typical woman who always gives the benefit of the doubt to the Man. You see her biggest mistake was not in striking years ago when the mcguffey Broomes was telling all the employees where to go. She took too long. But then again we woman always make the mistake of thinking wunna men gonna change by then it is too late and we got to run hollering and screaming wid we tails between we legs. Anyhow for that i forgive Mary and she has my full support until he backs down to the wishes of a set of conniving men especially after being fooled by JEFF BROOMES with his empty Promises. I hope she learned her lesson. Like Jeff said”BRING IT ON” now it is time for BSTU to “POUR IT ON”
@Bushie
6 – Arrest for any union leaders or teachers who defy the imposed solution”
What are you smoking ??? lol
The General Orders states among other thins, the headteaher responsibilities
include the suspension of any teacher for gross neglect of duty or misconduct calculated to injure the school – page 110 (h)
@Blogger2012
Why didn’t Broomes do same when Greaves allegedly neglected her duty?
@Caswell
Did i not say on anoter blog that the clo could have been involved. well, well. If you were party to the neogtiaon on staurday, then you ought to be shame to comment on the matter at hand.
I see from Barbados Today that the new Employment Rights Bill is about to be debated / enacted.
Can anyone enlighten me as what the process is for Bills like this.
As far as I can see something gets flagged up in the press saying that Government is working diligently to get a Bill put together. No one says what the content will be, then it is up in Parliament.
Does it go for out for consultation? How can we see what the proposals are?
It would be a shame if any new Bill turned out to be as flawed as the Antiquities Act.
Whatever is produced should have some possibility of avoiding an Alexandra School situation again.
So onion, the problem is that teachers can only work with nice mild principals?
Are you kidding? What Jykle and Hyde what??!
If the boss is unpleasant
1 – look for a job
2 – don’t frequent his home
3- don’t have him as a pal
Intelligent adults learn to cope. Even children learn to cope – Like when they have unpleasant teachers….. Should they go on strike?
That complaint about Broomes’ manner sounds more than childish…
@ole oinion
Arrest for any union leader or teacher who defy the imposed solition”
What are you smoking ? LOL
Answer: BROOME STRAW.
Wait ac, you like you got a problem with men yuh. That would explain a lot.
You know that BBE designed and made women to complement men? Being without a real real man can be quite frustrating…
Maybe that explains “a woman scorned…”
@Bushie
Yeah the key word being “Complement ” but wunna men changed it to “DOMINATE ” and we ain’t having that. that’s why Broomes a….sss is grass.
Barbados has many well educated intelligent people. They are some like BushTea who will be provocative for his own entertainment on this blog.
The fact is that Broomes is “the boss”. If a teacher refuse to teach a class for reasons unacceptable to him, he should act immediately within the constraints of her contract.
How could a competent BushTea MAN allow a teacher to disobey the Boss’s instruction for a whole term?
Truth is that some things that happen in Barbados are controlled by “diabolical forces” (credit to my friend Rawle East).
Imagine the PM of a self proclaimed almost First world country has to intervene in a this drop of molasses rolling down a hill.
Blogger2012 | January 16, 2012 at 8:32 PM |
@Caswell
Did i not say on anoter blog that the clo could have been involved. well, well. If you were party to the neogtiaon on staurday, then you ought to be shame to comment on the matter at hand.
What is your problem? If I were paranoid, I would think that you have some unhealthy obsession with me. Did I horn you or something? I don’t need you to tell me what is appropriate behaviour. Why would I be at negotiations on this matter? Mary is a match for the bully.
BushTea
Your views of employee putting up with a DIFFICULT boss are relic.. to say the least.
If he is owner manager maybe,,,but with large organisations today ..he is considered as ineffective..no team leader (japan)…old school thghts >>>out thru the window
Modern OTB theories speak more of TEAM and Team leader as it has been proved thru synergy ,organisation can achieve more
Bush
If AX had any REAL men to throw sum good lashes in Broomes OLD ASS , You think things wudda reach this far.??
A real man would dun got he …..hiding and puttin a guard outside ee door regerler….eek
Cuz fa all D shite dat man did gettin on with….I wud got HE ASKIN FOR A TRANSFER eva sense
@ole onion bag
Yuh got me laughing real hardddddddddd! i agree dat Broomes needs a real good cut a…….ss, I hope afta dis Mary madgelene and her thirty disciples throw some serious locks in he backside.
TOO late now ac…..things now @ a delicate stage
Opportunity Loss…..
Frundel better keep he outta this……remember Sandi
11 just in waiting for a mistake…TEK MY FOOLISH ADVISE
Julius Ceasar…..them stabb up my back whn I thgt dem did wid me.
@ ole onion
Well then maybe Marymadgelene and the thrty disciples can go for the next best thing and kick Roland Jones backside
@ac
hooooooooy hoy…you askin fa treble.
nuff treble…….upset the boy’s club status quo….hoy hoy
1. I detect a healthy dose of misogyny in a number of the comments here and in the media. If Redman were male i wonder if comments and views would be different?
2. Given the availability of the science head, precisely why a lesser qualified teacher would be sent to prepare the o level class is completely beyond me. How is that acting in the best interest of the students?
@ Caswell.
Caswell , you are incorrect about receipt of the letter; you have been misinformed. The letter was not received on 6 January as you stated, it was received in the Ministry of Education on 9 January 2012. Please make the correction Caswell in the interest of accuracy.
Businessman
I tend to agree with both of your points
To garner sympathy, everyone in this fiasco is invoking this so called best interest of the children. As far as I can see, the only parties involved in this dispute that really demonstrated care for the best interest of the children are Mrs. Greaves and the BSTU. Mrs. Greaves, in particular was trying to ensure that the children were not taught by Broomes’s duncy friends.
If the Minister and Ministry of Education really cared about the best interest of the children they would not have allowed this dispute to drag on for six years. Also whenever Broomes got involved in any confrontation that could have resulted in disciplinary action being taken against him, the Ministry cared so much for the children that they promoted and transferred him so that he can continue caring for other children. It appears that ministry, BAPPSS, Clarke and Maloney are more concerned with the best interest of Broomes.
In the Public Service, an officer is allowed to be accompanied by a union representative,or a lawyer or a friend, but in the interest of the children the Ministry has allowed Broomes to be accompanied by two lawyers, his union BAPPSS and two clown-friends masquerading as NUPW representatives. In any other case, an officer would only have been allowed one representative, not all three. That really speaks to the best interest of the children.
If Broomes had the best interest at heart, he would have ensured that they had the best qualified teachers: he would not have recruited his unqualified friends, unqualified family and unqualified good-looking young women to teach the children that he cares so much about over the years.
The media certainly do not care for the best interest of the children, if they did they would not slant their reporting to favour Broomes. While most of the media refuse to adequately put the BSTU’s position, the Barbados Today and the Nation have deliberately omitted information that would assist the union.
If the Government had any interest other that lifting its profile, they would have allowed the well established industrial relations practices to deal with the matter. They are seeking a boost at the expense of the children.
In the 14 years of the Arthur Administration, the unions refused to settle disputes unless the Prime Minister intervened and came out smelling like roses. That was staged managed to make Arthur look good. Now they are asking Freundel to Stuart to participate in a charade. However, this time around I do not believe that those calling on the PM mean him any good either.
Watching Carefully and Listening
I stand corrected. I took a 9 for a 6, thank you. My problem is that so much information is being passed to me for dissemination since most people involved do not trust the media to report accurately or even to be fair and balance. I hope that I did not get the part about the letter being unsigned wrong.
@Businessman
Given the availability of the science head, precisely why a lesser qualified teacher would be sent to prepare the o level class is completely beyond me. How is that acting in the best interest of the students?
****************
Now why did you have to ask that question? The Principal is the boss and how can he be seen as the boss if he doesn’t exercise his power? Even when your directions don’t make much sense, when you put square pegs in round holes who dare question your authority?
Some of the support that the Principal has garnered in the face of his actions is proof that there is “education” then there is Education and never the twain shall meet. It reminds me of earlier days when I was in Elementary school, if you told your parents that the Head Master or Teacher had flogged you, you could be sure to get another flogging. Why? No matter how undeserving the beating (and some were beatings) there was the belief that the teacher was always right and you had to be doing something wrong so you deserved whatever you received . In those days just like today the Head Master is always right for some people.
If the calendar didn’t read 2012 I could swear that we just entered the 1960’s, as a matter of fact the Mobile cinema will be on the pasture tonight, perhaps I can catch “Bud & Lou”.
@Caswell et al
What conclusion can be drawn from an unsigned letter being received by the MOE on the 9th of Jan?
Yet another case of a draft letter!
Will most people apply the same interpretation as was done in the case of the Eager 11 letter?
@David
what conclusion can be drawn that Mrs. Greaves had received the letter and refuse to carry out the principal’s instructions?
What conclusion can be drwan from her not teaching?.
@Caswell
you speak with forked tongue, it has been reported that you have said that Mary hasnt got a clue about IR, I ask you again, are you denying having made that statement?
When all is said there has to be negotiated solution. By the way the older teachers are appointed to the school and hence that is why i daid there must be a negotiated solution. As I have said on another blog Ms. Redman has no authority to request the removal of the pricipal, which she later stated as separtion and because of her lack of ir knowledge, caswell advise her not to call for removal, you cannot negotiate in bad faith
in my view the only way out to satisfy the immediate interests of the children in the bsence of immediate intervention by me stuart is the immediate removal/transfer of the aggrieved parties to other areas of their respective disciplines and commission an immediate enquiry to investigate the events and then let the chips fall where they may by instituting immediate disciplinary action to the fullest extent of the public service disciplinary action on those who have been found to be responsible for the impasse.
@Balance
You cleary dont underdand the rules governing Public Officers. Go get a copy of the Public Service Act. Natural justice must prevail.
the conclusion have been discuss over and over again by some blogger go back and read most people have said that mr. broomes administrial style or lack of became a challenge and one that Mrs. Greaves met head on .