The Tribune

BY FAY SIMMONS

TRIBUNE Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

MEMBERS of the Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) have been placed on industrial action alert after overwhelmingly rejecting the Government’s salary counter-proposal for a fifth time, setting the stage for a potential escalation of a long-running dispute just as the school year gets underway.

Belinda Wilson, the BUT president, said more than 1,400 members across The Bahamas participated in an emergency membership meeting yesterday where they again rejected the financial counter-proposal presented by the Government back on April 15.

“The Government has sent the same financial counter-proposal from April 15, 2026, that you have rejected five times,” Mrs Wilson said in a statement following the meeting.  “Again, you the members have rejected the same financial counter-proposal this morning.”

She said the union had informed the Government of the latest rejection and advised members that they are now on “industrial action alert”, following an earlier vote in which BUT members overwhelmingly supported taking industrial action.

The development comes as tensions between education sector unions and the Government have intensified during the first week of the 2026-2027 school year. The Bahamas Educators Managerial Union (BEMU), which represents school administrators, took industrial action earlier this week over long-standing grievances before Supreme Court intervention ordered its members back to work.

For the BUT, however, the immediate dispute centres on the financial elements of negotiations for a new industrial agreement.  Mrs Wilson previously said negotiations have been ongoing since October 2025, with the non-financial articles largely settled while the salary increase and other financial matters remained unresolved.

Mrs Wilson said the union has already voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action, and yesterday’s rejection of the Government’s proposal means its membership is now on alert for the next stage of the dispute.

The union’s latest move also comes after teachers were called into the emergency membership Zoom meeting yesterday, resulting in some educators reporting late to schools during the opening week of the new term.