Teachers across Antigua and Barbuda have received a long-awaited payout of $5.86 million as part of their reclassification agreement, Cabinet officials confirmed this week.
Maurice Merchant, Director-General of Communications in the Prime Minister’s Office, told the weekly post-Cabinet briefing that the funds have already been disbursed. “The Ministry of Finance announced some good news that they were able to pay $5.86 million dollars to teachers,” he said.
Merchant added that talks are continuing to settle further outstanding sums owed to educators. “Ongoing discussions in terms of other monies owed to teachers are being discussed at this time,” he explained.
The government says the climate of relations between the Ministry of Finance and teachers’ representatives is positive. Merchant pointed to the fact that the president of the teachers’ union sits on the Fiscal Resilience Oversight Committee (FROC), which recently reviewed the country’s fiscal performance.
Merchant noted that the FROC report had unanimous agreement among its members, which include representatives from the public sector, private sector and trade unions. “It’s very important to note that they had unanimity in terms of the decisions that were outlined in the report,” he said, suggesting a spirit of collaboration that extends into government-teacher relations.
The payments come against the backdrop of steady economic growth, which government officials say has created space to honour commitments to public servants.
Cabinet has also reaffirmed its commitment to scholarships for educators at the newly launched Antigua and Barbuda College of Advanced Studies (ABCAS), allowing teachers and tutors to upgrade their qualifications and improve the quality of tertiary education.
