As the new academic year officially begins today, teachers are engaging in a day of rest and reflection, in response to their upset over wage negotiations.

The Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association, led by Antonia Tekah-De Freitas, is calling for further negotiations with the CPO over the 4% offer.

Several trade unions have expressed solidarity with TTUTA, including the Joint Trade Union Movement, the National Trade Union Centre and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions and NGOs.

“TTUTA has valid grounds for saying that negotiations are not being conducted in good faith,” a joint statement from the supporting unions read.

It said, “Furthermore, this brinkmanship displayed by the government and the CPO will have consequences for the nation’s children. Teachers already dip into their own pockets for school supplies. How will these necessary expenses be funded when the government is in fact cutting into real salaries? Neither the Minister of Finance nor the Minister of Education is showing any concern for the quality of education delivered. The heartless focus on cost-cutting over the well-being of the teachers and students can only yield even lower results.”

Meanwhile, in a video message ahead of the start of the school year on Monday, Education Minister Dr. Nyan Gadsby Dolly thanked the estimated 30,000 teachers and all other education stakeholders for their dedication to their roles, making no reference to the planned absence from classes.

“Let’s surmount the challenges of the coming academic year together, with discipline, commitment, focus and above all- boundless faith in our destiny,” Gadsby-Dolly said.