Philipsburg:--- Several teachers marched to the Government Administration Building on Wednesday afternoon protesting against the decision taken by Minister of Education Rhoda Arrindell and the school boards to implement the No Work No Pay Policy. The teachers who returned to work on Wednesday morning gathered at the WIFOL building before marching to the government building.The group of angry teachers supported by the workers of Pelican started a signature drive demanding that the current government step down.
Yadira Boston told reporters that the current Minister of Education has no respect and she is a "Johnny come lately" because she has never met with the teachers to find out their grievances. Boston said one of their greatest concerns about the Minister is the disrespect she has shown to teachers. She further explained that even though the Minister has apologised for what she might have said about them, the teachers she said felt no remorse for the Minister because it appears as if someone forced her to apologize.
Boston said their intention is to inform the media in the Netherlands about the current situation on St. Maarten because to them if the people are suffering then the Ministers and Parliamentarians should also suffer the same way. Boston said it appears as though government is running from higher supervision but the teachers she said are not concerned if the new country is placed under higher supervision.Asked if the actions taken by the teachers are political, Boston said that during the four days meeting there were three politicians (members of parliament) that addressed them, they are Romain Laville, William Marlin and George Pantophlet. Boston clarified that the teachers and civil servants that attended the meetings made it clear that they did not want to hear from the politicians because they were growing weary of hearing from politicians.
President of the Windward Islands Teachers Union told her members that she did not sign the agreement with government on Wednesday instead she has made contact with a lawyer to file an injunction against government for applying the No Work No Pay policy which is intended for ghost civil servants. Elshot who was obviously emotional told her members that she was shocked when she listened to the audio of press conference given by the Minister of Education who told members of the media that she had to feed the union members when she met with them.
At one point, the Minister came downstairs to address the teachers whom she offended. The Ministers also invited a delegation to meet with her and the Prime Minister to the A. C Wathey Legislative Hall to further discuss the No Work No Pay Policy that has been implemented.The teachers even though they were not in any official meeting with government stood outside of the building until nightfall as they continued their silent protest. Deputy Prime Minister Theo Heyliger also joined the angry teachers where he listened to their grievances. Heyliger also spoke to Elshot about the meetings they held on Tuesday and asked if he intervened and remove the No Work No Pay policy if the teachers would stop their protest action.
Below is the audio of the commotion in front of the government administration building.
