GTU must encourage professional behaviour among its ranks

Oct 18, 2008 Letters

Dear Editor,
The teaching fraternity needs to be cognisant of the fact that the Teachers Union is now usurping the role of defence lawyers.
This has been noticeable for quite some time now. When the errant teachers are asked by the relevant authorities to report to such and such a place in order to discuss certain serious allegations, the union representatives, in almost all cases I know of, would instruct the teachers not to comply with these requests.
There are some senior union members who are most times not in the school to do their task of teaching, but could be found engaged in other activities out of school, and whose salaries are not in the least way affected.
For these teachers, the affairs of the union take precedence.
These are the same union reps. who would create in the minds of the gullible teachers the attitude to be rude and insubordinate to the leadership of their schools.
I know of a case where a teacher, quoting their union, refused to take a child (new admission) to her class which had 40 children, and that if the child is so placed then she will refuse to teach.
I also know where a teacher refused to go to her class because it was not swept; where a teacher had to go home to use the wash room because the one in the school was not cleaned; where the teacher refused to prepare term scheme, because the union says that the school has to provide same; where teachers refused to supervise children because it was their (the teachers’) lunch period; where teachers refused to shorten their lunch period to attend a brief meeting in the office because the union advised so.
These actions of teachers’ refusal can be compiled in a long list. It should be noted that most, if not all of the blatant refusals were made by young upstarts who treat the profession as a job and do not care beyond the five hours they would spend in school.
The GTU is wholly and solely anti-administrator; the GTU is always at logger-head with the decisions of the Ministry of Education and of head teachers relative to teachers’ discipline.
The union has given teachers the assurance that once they contribute union fees then it will always represent them in any situation. This assurance has emboldened the teachers to continue doing whatever they normally do, even if it results in breaking the rules, insubordination and even unprofessional conduct.
I think that it is time that the union be made to answer for its role in defending the indefensible, eroding the confidence placed on head teachers and bringing the teaching profession into disrepute.
The union should help to promote respect for the profession and to inform its teachers that it would not condone unprofessional behaviour among its rank.
The union needs to win the respect of everyone. Right now it needs respect. Its leaders need not visit schools in clusters and cuss out the Ministry of Education and the Government.
I also believe that the Ministry of Education tends to treat the union in a tardy manner all because the union has lost its vibrancy of yore.

Name and Address Withheld

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