LETTER: Union risks losing public support over prolonged strike action

To: President Casroy Charles
Antigua and Barbuda Union of Teachers (A&BUT)
St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda

Date: May 12, 2025

Subject: Strong Condemnation of Ongoing Strike Action

Dear Mr. Charles,

I write to express in the strongest possible terms my condemnation of the reckless and disruptive strike action being led by the Antigua and Barbuda Union of Teachers (A&BUT) under your leadership. At a time when the nation’s children are striving to recover from years of educational setbacks caused by the pandemic and other disruptions, your decision to remove teachers from classrooms is not only irresponsible—it is indefensible.

While you claim to be acting in defence of teachers’ rights, your actions are hurting the very students whom our educators are sworn to nurture. You have chosen confrontation over cooperation, disruption over dialogue, and hardship over harmony. Industrial action must always be a last resort, not a weapon wielded for political gain or in defiance of good-faith efforts to resolve disputes.

The Government has clearly signalled its willingness to address the outstanding matters through engagement and settlement mechanisms. Instead of honouring that process, your union has opted for a public spectacle that leaves parents distressed, students abandoned, and the education system destabilized.

Let me be clear: no grievance, however legitimate, justifies holding our children’s education hostage. Your continued defiance of reason and responsibility is a betrayal of the public trust. I urge you to immediately call off this action, return our teachers to the classrooms, and re-engage in constructive dialogue for the good of all stakeholders—most of all, our children.

The people of Antigua and Barbuda deserve better. Our children deserve better. And it is time for the leadership of A&BUT to reflect on its duty, not only to teachers, but to the nation.

Mother of Child

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