And in a live video today, the BNTU president reiterated these statements to her members. She updated them on the past few meetings they have had with the government representatives.
Smith said that she has taken some suggestions from the members to the negotiation table, including cutting ministers' allowances before cutting salaries. In the most recent meeting, she noted that the DPM Cordel Hyde seemed open to the suggestion.
Still, like the PSU, they too rejected the initial proposal and are tasked with coming up with a counter proposal for Monday. For now, they are withholding any major industrial action and will continue to negotiate in hopes of reaching an amicable resolution.
After they submit their counter proposal, they will then await a response from the government in the following week and will then decide the way forward.
And in that live video, Smith also spoke about the Prime Minister's latest comments. She said it was, quote, a slap in the face for teachers and it was disappointing, to say the least. She also said that they should not be tolerating that level of disrespect from any minister. Smith also went on the explain only some of the sacrifices that teachers have made both during and before the start of the pandemic.
