Some staff of the Barbados Community College (BCC) staged a protest at the Eyrie, St Michael campus, after one of their own was overlooked for a promotion.
They are also calling for the resignation of chairman of the Board Dr Allyson Leacock.
According to general secretary of the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) Richard Green, the recruitment of a head of department came at the expense of another person staff said “was already in the position and acting for a significant amount of time [and] received numerous accolades and recognition for the work that they were doing”.
Flanked by some of the protesting teachers and security officers earlier today, Green said staff strongly felt the situation was “unfair” and the NUPW was keen to get to the table “to work on a resolution, one that we think would be fair, equitable and in the best interest of the staff and in the best interest of the institution”.
While they were off the job, management of the BCC issued a statement, acknowledging workers’ right to engage in this type of action and said they remained committed to open dialogue to find a solution to the impasse.
NUPW president Kimberley Agard said she hoped there could be an amicable solution and were hoping for a reversal of the decision. She said in response to a question from the media, not only was the person who was overlooked after the interview process was qualified to do the job, but they were “awarded, rewarded, given accolades for the work.
“So, their competency, their ability to do the job cannot be questioned. They have the qualifications and they definitely displayed that they can get the job done.” (Nation News)
