Teachers’ call for cessation of automatic deduction of union dues understood

Dear Editor,
As someone with a lot of friends in the teaching fraternity, I feel compelled to echo some of the concerns raised by teachers with whom I am close. Many of these very teachers are afraid to speak out themselves because they fear being targeted by some in the GTU leadership.
It is for this reason I feel compelled to bring these matters to the attention of the public and those in authority, so that they can be addressed.
During the course of the week, I met up with about ten of my friends in the teaching profession, and we had conversations about the ongoing issues with the GTU. One of the things that they all related was that they want the automatic deduction of union dues from their salaries to be stopped. However, they expressed concerns over the fact that if they were to make this known to the GTU, their names might end up “In The Ring”, and they might suffer attacks similar to those meted out to the Minister of Education.
My friends in the teaching profession are of the view that the GTU in its current configuration is not working in the interest of teachers, and this is in spite of that Union collecting millions of dollars in union dues which are deducted from their salaries.
They related the absence of support from the Union on issues related to their welfare and their ability to cope with the economic and other challenges brought on by the pandemic. They contrasted this against the support received from the Government, and said there is a great disparity between the two, even though the Union collects millions of dollars in dues.
Many of the views expressed I agree with, as I believe the GTU has become political, and is operating as an extension of the APNU+AFC. I can clearly see where many teachers are coming from when they say they want the automatic deduction of union dues to be stopped.

Sincerely,
Thomas Cole