00:00There's some other news now. Teachers should return to San Juan North Secondary next week.
00:05It's the assurance coming from the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association,
00:09even as the OSH agency has supported the teachers' decision to stay away from school.
00:14Vanessa Cutting has more.
00:17These teachers would have exercised what they call a refusal to work.
00:20The OSH agency would have come in and basically they would have,
00:24I'm not going to read it, but they upheld the refusal to work.
00:27They are saying they are in total agreement with the teachers.
00:29The teachers made the correct decision in the situation in terms of their health and safety,
00:33and they are with them 100%.
00:36It's been five teaching days since San Juan North teachers stepped away from classes
00:41after a teacher was assaulted and robbed on the compound last week.
00:45Now the Occupational Safety and Health Authority and agency has informed the Ministry of Education
00:51that the teachers' actions are justified.
00:53They're basically saying what they thought about the teachers' actions.
01:00There are unusual circumstances that have arisen which are hazardous or dangerous
01:07to the health and the life of the employees and students,
01:11and therefore the refusal to work in accordance with Section 15 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act
01:17is therefore justified.
01:20Those are the first utterances of the OSH agency.
01:24So they went on to make some of the recommendations.
01:27The perimeter fencing, they asked that the perimeter fencing be repaired, replaced in some instances.
01:33Tudor says it expects that security will be increased.
01:37An agreement has been struck between them and Tudor that the complement, the strength of the security force,
01:43be increased to eight to one.
01:45So there will be one corporal and now you're getting eight officers.
01:48Tudor confirms that repair works started on the school today.
01:53Is it that teachers want all of the repairs to be affected before they return to school?
01:58No, no, no, no.
01:59Tudor and the teachers, we are trying to be as reasonable as possible.
02:03So we know that that can happen.
02:04However, we want to see that it is initiated.
02:07We want to make sure that they have the correct documentation in place.
02:10So the hope is, we're hoping for Monday or next Monday or Tuesday.
02:14Once everything goes well and they do exactly what they would have promised to do,
02:18Tudor envisages that there's a great possibility that both teachers and students
02:22will return to school at San Juan North Secondary on Monday or Tuesday.
02:26Renasa Cutting, TV6 News.
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