More Than – By Kisean Joseph
More Than 300 Teachers
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More than 300 teachers have reported receiving no retroactive pay or less than they believe they are owed, the Antigua and Barbuda Union of Teachers (A&BUT) said as schools reopen today for the 2026/2027 academic year.
A&BUT President Casroy Charles said the union is validating the claims before taking them to the Ministry of Education.
Charles said the Establishment Department and the Prime Minister had given assurances earlier this year that all outstanding retroactive payments to civil servants would be settled by the end of April. That deadline passed, he said, without a resolution for the affected teachers.
“In effect, 300 teachers would have reported to the union that they haven’t been paid the retroactive payment that is owed to them, or the sums that were awarded to them were insufficient,” Charles said. “As a union, we’re in the process of validating those claims to see whether or not they are legitimate.”
Charles said verification has been slowed because some teachers cannot access their payslips, which the union needs to confirm each claim before raising it with the Ministry. He said dialogue with the Ministry is continuing so that the disputed claims can either be substantiated or withdrawn.
The pay dispute is one of several concerns Charles raised ahead of the new term. He pointed to long-standing infrastructure problems at Otto’s Comprehensive School, where inadequate, flood-prone parking leaves teachers with nowhere safe to park during heavy rainfall. Those who resort to roadside parking are sometimes ticketed.
Charles acknowledged ongoing construction projects at schools, including Antigua Grammar School and Clare Hall Secondary School, but said work has not begun at several others that were promised similar upgrades. He again called on the Ministry of Education to honour a decade-old commitment to expand Otto’s Comprehensive School with a new wing—a request he said he repeated during the school’s centenary celebrations this year.
On teacher recruitment, Charles said he could not speak directly to the Ministry’s staffing strategy but noted that persistent shortcomings continue to make the profession less attractive to prospective and serving teachers. These include inadequate school security and classroom space, poor ventilation and stagnant remuneration.
Despite the challenges, Charles said the union’s training initiatives for staff representatives aim to strengthen support for members at the school level. A new round, building on an eight-week programme launched in February, will be held twice per academic year and will also be open to prospective representatives.
Charles said the union’s priorities for the new term include continued training for staff representatives, health initiatives for members and advocacy for outstanding benefits and new contractual arrangements.
He closed with a message to students, teachers and parents ahead of the new school year, urging parents to take a sustained interest in their children’s education rather than becoming involved only when problems arise.
“Parental involvement is the key to your child’s success,” Charles said. “No longer can parents just sit back and send their child or their children to school and just wait for the best results.”
