Fresh fence repairs at Belmont Secondary to begin during vacation
Trinidad and Tobago
T&T Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA) president Martin Lum Kin has met with Belmont Secondary School teachers, following their protest action at the school recently.
During a lunchtime meeting yesterday, Lum Kin told the teachers that the Ministry of Education had sent out tenders and that work would begin on a permanent fence during the July/August vacation.
This was subsequently confirmed by Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, who, in a response to Guardian Media, said the procurement process for the contractor was ongoing. She said once this was complete, repairs would begin.
On another issue, Lum Kin yesterday said the union would make representation at the level of the Permanent Secretary to see whether the teachers could forego having to apply for the days they missed during a refusal to work protest action over the broken fence and their security concerns after two gunmen entered the compound and accosted a safety officer recently.
He said they should not have to apply for the days, as the teachers were under duress and physiologically impacted by the incident.
Lum Kin told Guardian Media that the teachers were much better yesterday but the fear was still there. He said, however, the teachers would abide by the law.
Last week, the teachers appealed a refusal to work action that was turned down by the Occupational Safety and Health Authority and Agency (OSHA). The action was taken because the teachers were unsatisfied with the fence repairs done by contractors hired by the Education Ministry.
“When they came back out and saw the patchwork, they say nah,” a source connected to the school said.
“They used BRC wire and tie wire, it could basically be untied with your hand…Anybody who wants to get in can easily get in.”
The security breach by the gunmen also caused parents to keep the 400-plus children away from school. They protested outside the school on May 2 and 5 for the fence to be repaired.
Contractors started work on May 6 and some students returned on May 8.
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