Persistent Environmental Issues at Lester Vaughan School Ignored by Education Officials, Teachers Demand Urgent Action

“We just want a healthy and safe work environment. [They] go into an environment every day and experience nausea, some persons get nose bleeds, they feel dizzy, or vertigo, persons are diagnosed with sinusitis. All of these things contribute to an uncomfortable worker and I think that everyone deserves a safe and healthy work environment. The teachers at Lester Vaughan, I think, are fed up with being sick at this point in time. They came to meet with the ministry officials because they want a solution.

They want a way forward to see how they can get out of this sick environment or how things can be fixed in this sick environment so that they can go forward and continue the process of teaching and instruction.”

Explaining the reason for Thursday’s move to take the concerns right to the ministry’s doorstep, the BUT official said the workers decided they had had enough and it was time to take action.

“These teachers would have reported to the school that they were reporting to the employer, so they came here today. But many of those teachers have been experiencing symptoms throughout the term,” he said.

Pierre recalled a meeting in April with the Ministry of Education, saying that the board of management of the school had guaranteed certain things would be done.

“Those things were done. However, based on the symptoms that teachers are still experiencing this term, those things did not make a difference,” he said.

Pierre, who is also first vice president of the BUT, said it was up to the teachers to decide if they would return to the school. About a third of the teaching staff went to the ministry, he said.

The union’s health and safety official urged parents to come together and apply pressure where needed.

“Parents, get more active in the children’s lives regarding the parent-teacher associations, compare notes, talk with each other, see what is going on because you may think it is only your child but your child may be among 100 who may be experiencing the same symptoms. It is not about exposing personal information, but we all want a solution to what seems to be an ongoing problem,’ Pierre said.

He disclosed that there were also environmental problems at the Ann Hill School in Pine Plantation Road, St Michael.

“I know for sure that the staff were complaining about issues regarding the construction across the road from the school.

Constant noise during the day, disruption of classes, you get the dust coming over as well. So the noise, the drilling, the vibrations and so on have been very uncomfortable at Ann Hill for teachers and students.

“Also, many of the classrooms have mould.

Several teachers and students have been getting sick, complaining of respiratory issues in the classrooms, Information Technology rooms and so on. The school also has issues where water seeps through the paint after heavy showers,” Pierre said.

In a brief statement to Barbados TODAY, the Ministry of Education said it “is in talks with the parties involved and will give a comprehensive response to [the] issues once investigations are completed”.

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