00:00 The 20 days vacation for ECCE teachers is one of the terms in their contract that had
00:06 Tutor fuming about a month ago.
00:08 The association labeled it unfair and the situation subsequently resulted in protest
00:13 action outside of the education ministry.
00:16 It meant that these educators, even if they applied for their vacation during the July-August
00:21 period, generally had to return to work long before teachers in primary and secondary schools
00:27 who would head out to work only days before the new academic year begins.
00:31 President of Tutor Martin Lumpkin says the issue has not been forgotten.
00:35 Tutor has not given up on the terms and conditions, really the contract that was issued to the
00:43 ECCE teachers and to the fact that the legislation needs to be changed.
00:49 We are almost to the end of the vacation of what ECCE teachers were required to report
00:55 for duty to do by and large nothing, just to come to an empty center.
01:03 The ministry of education has pointed to the differences between both sets of educators,
01:08 saying in the past ECCE teachers were allowed to apply for their vacation outside of that
01:14 July-August period, which primary and secondary school teachers are not allowed to do.
01:19 Their vacation leave coincides with the Easter and July-August periods.
01:24 The ministry further contended that ECCE teachers cannot benefit from the two months leave and
01:30 be allowed their 20 days vacation in addition to that.
01:34 According to Tutor, ECCE teachers did turn up to empty centers during the vacation period.
01:40 To monitor and in some instances they had to clean and so Tutor is still not satisfied
01:46 with that and still calling on the ministry of education who issued these contracts to
01:52 ensure that our ECCE teachers are treated as they are supposed to be treated in the
01:59 scheme of the education system.
02:02 Is it that they do send out all of the other relevant staff to accommodate those teachers,
02:07 like let us say security personnel, cleaning staff?
02:12 During the term there are cleaners.
02:14 During this vacation period, the ministry of education did not engage any cleaners.
02:21 So the teachers who occupy were expected to clean the centers as well, which is outside
02:28 of their job description.
02:32 And so we would have advised our ECCE teachers that they should not engage in that sort of
02:37 activity.
02:41 Tutor says it also advised those teachers to seek representation if their place of employment
02:46 caused them to have health and safety concerns.
02:49 On the matter of security, Lamkin tells us, there were guards positioned at the ECCE centers
02:55 during the vacation period.
02:57 Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
03:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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