PARENTS of schoolchildren have varying views on the TT Unified Teachers Association's (TTUTA) continued protests about wage negotiations.
After recently rejecting an offer for a four per cent salary increase, TTUTA has been calling on Chief Personnel Officer Dr Daryl Dindial to meet to negotiate further – but he has not been responding.
This led to the first protest on day one of this school term (September 5) where teachers stayed home from work.
It continued on Thursday and teachers only came out to work for the second half of the day.
And TTUTA has since said there will be another on Monday (Budget Day) where members will stay home to "reflect on what a 2022 budget could mean on your 2014 salary."
President of the National Parents Association (NPTA) Kevin David told Newsday he would not "throw words" for TTUTA. He said since parents are made aware of these disruptions in the education system, they can take extra steps to ensure children continue to learn despite this.
"All parents need to step out of their comfort zone and work together to reduce the factors that affect our children from receiving a proper education."
Asked how TTUTA's protests are affecting students, he said, "That's the thing – it's affecting them negatively.
He said there is no intention for the NPTA and TTUTA to "be against each other" and that such a narrative would be pushed if he were to directly comment on the association.
One father of a standard two student told Newsday while he understands TTUTA's right to fair wages, "I do not understand why it has to be at the expense of innocent children.
"The disruption caused by these particular types of protests, coming on the heels of the disruption already caused by the pandemic, should have nothing to do with the students who are simply trying to get an education from an already disadvantaged school system.
"No one is saying forfeit your protests, simply find a way to do so without affecting the upcoming generation who never asked to be a part of any of this."
A father of a standard four student said, "As a parent, I can empathise with the plight of teachers who, despite their tireless efforts to educate and nurture our children, are still battling crippling inflation on a salary that is seven years old."
A mother of a standard two and form four student said, "Covid19 already took a hit on these kids. This will just make it worse."
And the mother of a child in form six (upper) said it's annoying.
"The people who least affect the salary negotiations – students – are feeling the biggest brunt of the protest actions. Unions need to find better and more innovative ways to protest without hurting the students," she said."
Another mother added, "I totally understand their plight, but the frequent absence from school is unacceptable, especially yesterday's (Thursday's) action with that half day s---.
"I am thinking they should at least hold out until after the budget, and then if nothing is done, they (are) free to act up again."
One father whose child attends private school told Newsday he has friends and relatives who teach at public schools and "it's not easy.
"It's not about them just wanting more money so they can lime and galavant. There are basic things that schools need that some teachers have to dip into their own pockets to provide, and a livable wage is not too much to ask for."
Another said, "Prices are rising and four per cent is a low increase, especially due to the amount of time that has passed since there last salary increase.
"I am not very political but honestly, I think across the country we are faced with the same circumstances. It is a good thing for the union to stand up and be successful to show that at least as a nation, we have a voice. I think that is positive and important so I support the move."
One parent alerted Newsday to the Education Ministry's website, saying the links to the primary school curriculum do not work.
"Therefore, parents can't use that as a guide during all these rest and reflect days," she said.
When Newsday visited that section of the website, an error screen popped up after clicking the curriculum.
It says, "This XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it. The document tree is shown below."
Newsday contacted Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly for a comment but all calls and messages went unanswered.
