THE EDITOR, Sir:
AS I read the article on the front page of The Gleaner, dated Saturday, February 8, 2003, with the headline, "NO SCHOOL MONDAY, Teachers to strike for more pay", I could not help laughing. Before readers chide me for not viewing this matter with the seriousness that it deserves, please allow me to explain, and it will become abundantly clear that there is a funny side to a teachers' strike.
The last time teachers went on strike, some teachers took home their work. They spent their striking time marking students' work and catching up on their record-keeping and even having consultations with parents and students. What was the reward for taking their work outside of the schoolroom? Loss of pay for the days spent in the self-serving task of doing school work at home instead of the designated workplace. What a rewarding experience! Undoubtedly, some teachers will have a similar experience with the next strike.
To make the situation even more laughable, more often than not, the president of the Jamaica Teachers' Association is the principal of a school, yet during a strike, the principals, although they are members of the same association, claim that they cannot participate in a strike because of their responsibility as managers. Hence, they are the ones to see to it that teachers lose pay for taking strike action.
In bursar-paid institutions, they see to it that the relevant deductions from teachers' salaries are made, and in schools where salaries are sent directly from the ministry, they provide the ministry with the names of the teachers who participated in the strike so that the deductions can be made.
The best part of the story is that principals also benefit from any positive results from the strike action without losing anything. How convenient!
Somehow, I see Brother Anancy having a good laugh at the classroom teachers. But maybe it is just a matter of all teachers being equal but some being more equal or all members of The Jamaica Teachers' Association being equal but some being more equal. So please forgive me for looking at the funny side of the teachers' strike.
What about the students? Some will enjoy the break while others catch up on their homework.
I am, etc.,
WINNIE ANDERSON-BROWN
winab@cwjamaica.com
Bagatelle District
Ashley P.A.,
Clarendon
