As an expression of our disgust caused by the Alexandra dispute Barbados Underground will not update new blogs until strike action ends.
Education is regarded as a fundamental human right and the absence of 30 teachers from the classrooms of the Alexandra School for close to two weeks is a failure on the part of leadership of Barbados. The frightening reality that the ‘fracture’ has occurred in the education sector should place an accent on the gravamen of the challenge which confronts us.
Think on these things Barbados.
316 responses to ““If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything””
With all this money spent on technology in the Education system wunna trying to tell me that the MOE and the BSTU and schools don’t send out letters,emails, faxes, memos etc by computer???? If they did and say they didn’t receive there will be proof. Lawd we got all those fancy toys that we paying for them to use and dem ent using dem???? We got a bunch of jokers playing games with our Educational system. STUPSE……
The BSTU was a no show at the meeting this morning.
Mr. Perry was sent to represent the BSTU.
YOU CANNOT SAY THERE WAS A NO SHOW ..BY LAW AN EMISSARY WAS SENT
@Solution Masta
Emissary? you fa real? without files, or documents or a mandate??
By that logic every indiscretion at the school can be justified by some “extenuating circumstantial logic.”
@David
“it seems the BSTU has a problem discussing the matter with other union people present ans some others not directly associated with the matter.”
Oh, but they have no problem shutting down an entire education system and asking government to break or circumvent their own laws and regulations to satisfy an ultimatum. You are right though, the BSTU has a problem, and it has a name.
@iSLGIRL
100% CORRECT ……Are you about to steal my thunder?
@Observing
You see the size of the man head…..he don’t want no files..besides…they might get missing while at MOE.
Saturday ….the files went…… Further.this is just to show how frighten the people are to be in the same room as uncle Jeff.
De solution……this is a result of the MAY clause
@islandgal246 | January 18, 2012 at 10:37 AM |
“With all this money spent on technology in the Education system wunna trying to tell me that the MOE and the BSTU and schools don’t send out letters,emails, faxes, memos etc by computer???? If they did and say they didn’t receive there will be proof.”
there would definitely be proof if it was hand delivered, there would be a book with a signature, and date it was delivered. so Broomes would have that book to show that it was signed for
Solution Masta…..NAH I doan steal or plan tah steal yuh thunder at all it is just dat great minds think alike an sometimes fools seldom differ. LOLLLLL
Hand Deliver…Chocolate pie ….you gine trust a man to deliver huh! Sign a book dem still doing dat? De book ent get loss too? Get with it girl de emails doan lie at all!
Cheez on beds man……let we get tis ova nah
Calling Dr. Freundel…calling Dr. Freundel you are needed at the front desk.
ACT..>>>>>>swiftly show ur metal
Telll them to go back to school tomorrow or look for a job simple as that. Then we will deal with that in the law courts after. These 30 teachers need to check themselves, their caue and mostly their LEADERSHIP or lack thereof she is leading them down a dangerous road, only with this government will they play the ass. I doubt under Owen would they have risked this, a drastic measure would have been taken long time.
I agree wid Undertaker
Owen would have been more decisive. But he would have also been fair.
Just to FIRE is unfair
What’s more “disturbing” is the length of time for the BSTU to formulate what should be a basic response to this morning. “We did not attend because……”
Struggling as usual to put “facts” together and stretch the story to obfuscate the “now current issue.” while feverishly looking through acts for the clause or paragraph that inoculates them from their “tactical error.”
But wait, no ac, no caswell, no watching, no balance?
Observing
Are we forgetting the MAY .clause ?…they are pursuing new and uncharted ground.
to where we don’t know
@Observing
We need to hear from the BSTU Executive on why a no-show today.
We need to find out what was the most recent communication between the BSTU and the MOE?
Was the MOE advised that BSTU would not agree to the meeting as constituted?
We need some more information.
Minister Jones’ tone in his press conference is also ill advised.
It is clear Sir Leroy is correct, the relationship is ‘fractured’.
Broomes can say ‘Bring it on’ which is inflammatory but he seems to have been given a pass.
@David
Redman says Perry was there to represent them and keep a “watching brief”
That the BSTU will not met nor negotiate with Broome, NUPW nor BAPPSS becasue it “compromises” their stand but she’s ready to meet the Ministerial group at the earliest time
Sigh. I tell wunna from day one that the BSTU has squandered all legitimate, legal, logistical and public relations leverage they had.
Understand de folly of that statement, like she or not.
“We can’t meet with dem because it compromises our stanf”
YET
“We sent a representative”
AND PUN TOP DAT
“We’re ready to meet with the Ministerial Group whenever possible.
Sad bloody day in Barbados. Fa real.
LONG LIVE BONNY PEPPA
LONG LIVE DESMOND BOURNE
Bonny would have had a field day on this issue
@Observing
It is not a popularity contest.
It is about establishing what is the legitimate grievance , one that led the BSTU to depart from normal grievance procedure.
Whatever happens from here new resources will have to be parachuted into the Alexandra School.
The fallout as a result will have to be carefully managed.
THE PM go step in WATCH !
Things IMPLODING all round…..chaos ….watch out
Miss P just DUNK Jeff Broomes ..her once darling calling him a liar
WOW.. the plot thickens
A meeting must be called and chaired this evening.
Again the public which is uninformed will run amok!
@Observing
If you read Redman’s last quote in the media this matter maybe headed to the Courts.
@David
I’m not talking about popularity. I’m talking about managing the public’s perceptions of you while you deal with an issue. Any responsible union MUST ensure that their case, facts and process keep that image at a reasonable level at least. To do otherwise will introduce additional “baggage” as you try to “win” your case. Far less if the case is weakly prosecuted by your executive to begin with.
As for the legitimate grievance, the BSTU took that word out of the lexicon for their deliberations while they walled themselves up with this ultimatum and further killed it by their actions this morning. Can’t go searching for a grievance in the darkness now. The die has been cast.
@Observing
It is clear the BSTU feels strong enough abut the case that they are willing to defend an extreme position.
Curious also as to the role the ‘level-headed’ Patrick Frost is playing.
@David
I heard. but the question stands.
– What will be her case?
– What facts will be allowed given the mammoth collateral damage that will occur
– What will the teachers at Alexandra do for the 2-3 years that the case will take to try?
– What should the MOE do, given the unmoving position of a union and an unwillingness to negotiate based on that position.
I say again, the BSTU has history, prominence and an “almost case” here. But there actions and statements indicate folly, rashness and some level of ignorance (of a number of things).
@ David Jan 18, 2012 at 10:12am
Quote:” The BSTU was a no show at the meeting this morning.
Mr. Perry was sent to represent the BSTU”
Are you surprised David? I wrote “yesterday” it was a mistake to state before this meeting there could be a further meeting one involving Prime Minister Stuart, if a solution was not found to the dispute.
By stating that they undermined the “authority” of today’s meeting and showed a lack of tactical awareness, because each side wants to say. We only settled when we were forced to and had no alternative. Todays meeting thus became a non event.
I am not being wise “after” the event, what I wrote is a matter of record.
Caswell you have been called out on the talk show today by a man who read your comments on BU.
He accused you of being biased and challenges your position that Broomes should not be represented in the way that he has been to date.
Perhaps he should have also accused Sir Roy of bias as well but his comment referring to Sir Roy suggests he has no such worries.
Now this is going to interesting watchig Broomes and his bosses MOE fight now it seems like Broomes got two left feet.
Boomes has made theBSTUjob a lot less easier all they have to do now is sit back and klet Broomes continue to make a public spectale and ass of himself with his false accusations being level at the MOE
Seems the BSTU made a good tactical move.
Why go to a meeting where you are out gunned.
If Broomes has done nothing wrong, the minister must now show the public why the BSTU is trying to get rid of a competent Headmaster.
Redman mussee learn she tactics in Canada.
Now the BU intelligensia can factor in the impact of this debacle on the next election.
And for those of you concerned about the children this has been a learning experience for them.
What is most intriguing is how Broomes was quick to accused amanda of insubordination.Now the shoe is on the other foot and Broomes calling his bosses liars.this should be any easy one for the MOE .Just Fire Hiss A……sss unless he can produce copies of the original letters. Broomes is a schister.in lay mans terms a piece of s……t
The impasse at Alexandra School seems to be a case of the “Diary of a Mad Red Woman”
Mad looking mutant Mary Redman is behaving like a mad woman obsessed with one desire – to have her way in the removal of Jeff Broomes.
It is down right insulting to the Office of Prime -Minister,the Cabinet of Barbados,the Ministers who make up that cabinet for Mary Redman to refusesto meet with the relevant bodies that the Prime Minister requested her to meet with.
The time has long passed whereby a resolution should have been found for the nonsensical issue at Alexandra School.Prime Minister Freundel Stuart must act decisively in this issue.An ultimatum must be given to the Barbados Secondary Teachers Union and the “mad red mutant woman” to either return to work at the school or all of them be fired.
Prime Minister Freundel Stuart must act decisively and fearlessly in this matter or we Barbadians will act decisively and fearlessly in removing him and his party from office.
Prime Minister no philosophical clap trap from you on this matter.Barbadians are calling for a practical solution to a practical problem.
Act now or we will act on you.
@ac
Whether we fire/transfer Broomes and or fire/transfer teachers it does not fix the problem,
What Mr Broomes is “alleged” to have done in the past is now of minor significance….because the source, well leave it at that.
Todays events demonstrate what he has had to deal with; and any “reasonable person” who is not taking sides cannot but conclude that on the evidence available to the public, he has a case.
I came into contact with this blog a little bit late but as the old people would say: “better late than never”. However, to the heart of the matter: this standoff between Jeff Broomes and Mary Redman is not going to be resolved without some damage being done to the egos of both these individuals.
I have not taken any side over this impasse because I am well aware that the full story on both sides will perhaps never be fully ventilated in a public forum. However,as a retired civil servant myself, that once took part in industrial action against a former head, I am inclined to lean on the side of the teachers.
First let me say that the kind of publicity sought by Mr Broomes, either wittingly, or unwittingly, was to my mind pathetic; one instant that comes to mind here is his showing on CBC’s ‘Morning Barbados’ programme engaging the hosts of that programme in all kinds of small talk, like bragging about some special ability that his baby granddaughter living somewhere in New York, I think it is, possesses. As though she was some kind of superior human. I thought that was simply stupid.
If this was how he was trying to win support for his tenure at Alexandra’s is really laughable. Now, the teacher at the heart of the dispute and also the other teachers who have rallied around her, need to be reminded that there is no utopia in any workplace anywhere in the world, farless Barbados and they need to understand that they will have to put up with some of these conceited and haughty individuals who have been placed in authority over them. As a matter of fact, the terms and working conditions of teachers have come a long way within the past 70 or so years.
My father, who is now gone to the great beyond related a story to me many years ago when I was seeking employment at that time. He said to me that his first job was a teacher; but he didn’t remain in that position too long based on the conditions at that time so he subsequently studied and improved himself and got transferred to the general civil service. He said that back in that day, headmasters and principals had lots of power; they could send you to do menial tasks from which you had no recourse other than to do them.
He said that in the mid 1940s he worked as a teacher for two years without pay; except for a mere stipend of $1.50 cents per month, in order to satisfy the headmaster that he was capable of doing the job and part of that teaching involved tending to the headmaster’s garden at his home. Naturally, when he said that, I almost had a rush of blood; but those were the conditions back in those days. He told me that there was nobody to complain to and he had no other choice but to do as instructed by his headmaster or he would not have had the job.
After he was appointed to the posts, his salary was increased to $20.00 per month. So as soon as he was able to improve himself he applied for a job in the general civil service and said goodbye to teaching. I sincerely hope that this kind of mentality does not exist anymore in the minds of heads and principals; evidently, we have gone past these kinds of working conditions that lack a comprehensive job-description, but people are poeple are people and if you want to know how people will behave, just notice how you will react to your corns being mashed and you will be able to guage the kind of reaction that you will receive.
Mr Broomes and the teachers ought to realize that despite the difficulties that exist between them, somebody needs to rise above the divide; even if it means giving up one’s rights in the process, and place the interest of the students first. Nobody is going to win this one: I would suggest that whoever decides to cave in, whether it is Mr Broomes relinquishing the post of principal or the teachers suddenly having a change of heart and returning to the classroom; it should be done in away that individuals so doing regain some kind of face; so that either Ms Redman, on behalf of the teachers, or Mr Broomes, or his spokesman, going public and making the pronouncement to this effect. I cannot see any other way out given the perceived inability or incompetence, if you will, on the part of the MOE, and not to forget, the legal ramifications, to take some kind of affirmative action.
To Negroman:
Miss Redman has a union to run and members to service. You seem to believe that because another human being suggested something and she and group did not comply is some sort deviant behavior. She and her members have to right not to meet. By the way, it was indicated since saturday that her group felt that it was a waste of time meeting with Ronald Jones and company. if the PM takes your advice, there will be a general strike in Barbados. Will your boy Freundel fire every body?
@lemuel
Didn’t Caswell advise in an earlier comment the Jones doesn’t have the trust of the teachers in the dispute?
To David:
Even more important, in yesterday’s paper the picture clearly indicated that Mary and her lambs were being led to the slaughter. How could Jones mediate when Broomes was his Vice President at the BUT. Harry Husbands was the general secretary. And Jepter Ince clearly sides with Broomes. How can any one trust any of them. Freundel it is time for you to come and fix this thing right now.
The Alexandra School situation is Barbados in Microcosm: (1) Misplaced familial loyalty. (2) Perceived one-upmanship in educational qualifications. (3) Alma mater significance in the social pecking order. (4) Unfounded salacious accusations to make a case when no “evidence” is available. (5) The loyalty expected from some members of social organizations.
It is a web woven to entangle the unwary, where perceived right matters more than Justice, Honesty and Fairness.
A criticism now leveled against Mr. Broomes is that he boasted about the ability of his grandaughter. How does that impact on what he is paid to do at the Alexandra School as Principal.
Most grandfathers say nice things about their grandchildren, being a School Principal does”not” preclude you from doing that.
Where is the “fairness” here.
Now we have the unelected ignoring the “elected” in a Democracy…..God help us!!!!
Wait a lil puny union got de country in an uproar by withholding thier services and you David following suite and withholding your blog from we? Wuh we do you? chuspe!
Lemuel
Tell me who right thinking private or public sector employee in Barbados will ever join Mary Redman in her personal vendeta against Jeff Broomes. General strike my a–.
Public opinion is on the side of Jeff Broomes and his position is being strengthen by the support he has received from the Alexandra students,principals of schools,parents and the general public.Based on that information,I doubt very mucha national strike could ever come out of this madness.
Mary Redman & her union have not at any point in time identified the issue or issues that have resulted in their call for Jeff Broomes separation from Alexandra School.As the Prime Minister indicated,it is just a frivolous issue of two so-called adults behaving in a childish manner to assert their manhood & womanhood.
The nonsense of Mary Redman has disrupted the studies of our children not only at Alexandra School but also at other Secondary Schools in Barbados.
Freundel Stuart must act decisively now on this matter.I repeat give Mary Redman and her sriking teachers an ultimatum.return to work or be fired.There are thousands of applications at Ministry of Education for jobs in the teaching service from well qualified young Black Barbadians.
The education of our Black Barbadians children must not be compromised by the actions of that mad looking red mutant Mary Redman. .
@Adrian
It is a little harsh to paint it the way you have.
What is happening at Alexandra is draining the energy by the minute.
It is hard to motivate yourself when everyday we see what is playing out and as Yardbroom has written it amplifies what is happening in other spheres of society.
Maybe we all should take Bush Tea’s advice and accept what seems to be the inevitable.
@ David
Seems like someone is intent on letting Jeff Broome earn a big payout just before retirement. Things never change around Bim.
#atching Carefully and Listening. | January 18, 2012 at 1:43 AM |
To Mrs Amaida Greaves.
“I hereby tender to you my unqualified apology for the vilification you have suffered at the hand of a hostile public over these past weeks.”
u are really infantile. mr broomes stated in today’s paper that a letter was ‘hand delivered’ to MOE. in essence that means that the letter had to be signed for in a correspondence book from Alexandra School, with a date of when the person signed. mr broomes would be foolish to say it was hand delivered, knowing that that he would have have to show proof that it was.
it stands to reason then, then if he has the book showing the time, date and signature of the person receiving the correspondence then the chief education officer should be fired for his lies.
has anyone ever seen the registry at the MOE?
Don,t get frustrated David if you , don,t start some where you will endup no where
@ David
“Maybe we should take Bush Tea’s advice….”
LOL…. So you mean after all this time you still have so little faith…
– you remember the Gulf oil spill solution…. Instead of following BT’s advice the experts listen to MME for months…. Then still had to apply the Bush plan….lol
Same with AX…..rotfl
Why these unsigned letters?
We still sign letters where I work.
I would like anyone who after today, still supports the bstu and mary redman’s actions (not causes or reasons..actions) to please say so and if possible say why.
I have said over and over that Caswell has said that the mutant has nor got a clue about iR, I have challenged him at least three times to deny that he had uttered those words and he has not denied them. Bloggers can now make their own deduction.
I am now convinced that her motive might be political as well considering the tenuous nature of the society at this time she beliieves that she can play politics. What ever public sympathy she may have had, has almost disappered. How can you say that you have sent an emissary to meeting of that nature. it is supposed to be a high powered meeting. If she had any modicum of common sense she would have attended and seek to fustrate the meeting and then let the meeting decide that no progress was made, but then again , as caswell said the woman is an ididot and I am now convinced now more so than ever that she is a boo boo.
I will order the teacher back to work and let them refuse to return and invoke the relevant section of the Public Service Act and ask the GG to indertdict for six months on half pay, pending investiagations into their conduct.
PM you must now act and show Barbadians whether you have balls or not.
Is Phil Perry a bona fide member of the BSTU? Can Phil Perry represent BSTU? If the answer is yes to both questions, then the Group must explain why they decided debarred Mr Perry from the meeting. I laughed when it was repored that Mr Perry said he was there to record ……. I could imagine the noise when he said that especially with politicians around. they did not listen to the end of the speech,…..the presence of the BSTU at the meeting. Mr Perry had a watching brief. The Chairman could not put or Mr Perry on his say so . He may be disappointed that Miss Redman and some others did not turn up but he had no right in refusing Mr Perry. The meeing was properly constituted and the chairman should have proceeded and let the chips fall where they may. Thing on these things/