THE BARBADOS SECONDARY TEACHERS UNION (BSTU) wants the Ministry of Education to remove Jeff Broomes as principal of Alexandra School.
Thirty-three of the BSTU members turned up at the union’s headquarters yesterday for Day 1 of industrial action, and they intend to report to the Belleville, St Michael headquarters until such time as their demands are met. And president Mary Redman and general secretary Mona Robinson wore red to signal that the BSTU is in war mode.
The union is adamant that teachers can no longer work with Broomes, whom it accuses of shouting and aggressive stance to those under his rule, parents and guardians and staff at the Ministry of Education.
Teachers and the union are calling for the separation of Broomes for multiple issues relating to both his management and leadership style from the time he was appointed principal, which they claim are in breach of existing protocols.
Querying the ministry’s stance in this situation, Redman said precedent for the separation of a principal from a school was set more than 15 years ago, when Hallam King was reassigned from Coleridge and Parry School.
Refused
King reportedly made controversial statements about members of staff, and was asked to withdraw them. His repeated refusal led to his separation from the school by the ministry.
“What we have to ask ourselves is why would the ministry not accept one type of behaviour at one point in time, but seek to accept the identical behaviour now? What is the hold-up?
What is the problem? The situation is the same. Why was it seen as not acceptable under Mr Hallam King, but acceptable for the principal of the Alexandra School?” she queried.
Efforts are now under way to rally BSTU members at other schools, and Redman said the next step would be the withdrawal of labour from those schools as well.
Recognising that the withdrawal of labour at Alexandra and other schools would cause disruption, Redman said the action was not geared at “unnecessarily” or “maliciously” disrupting schools.
“Our actions today result from years of attempts of trying to resolve the serious issues that manifest themselves mainly in the managerial style of the principal of the Alexandra School. We have exhibited patience beyond what is normally possible for any organization, any human being.”
