The Antigua and Barbuda Union of Teachers (ABUT) says it intends to submit proposals to the government for a 2025-2027 collective agreement, insisting that it will not be waiting for 16 years as had been the previous case to do so.
The ABUT and government Thursday signed a collective agreement covering the period 2018-2024 with the union indicating that the last collective bargaining agreement signed between the two parties took place in November 2008.
“We won’t be waiting 16 years; our proposal will be submitted to the Establishment Department by the end of this year, and we expect to commence negotiation before mid-2025,” said ABUT president, Casroy Charles.
Under the new agreement, teachers will receive a 14% salary increase retroactive to 2018.
The first 5% came into effect in 2018, with the remaining 9% paid as of January this year.
The parties are now finalising positions regarding the long-requested reclassification of salaries that could result in additional hikes based on individual job categories effective retroactively from January.
The agreement also outlines working conditions, benefits, salaries, and the rights of teachers and the union in relation to how contractual disputes should be addressed.
“At this point, I would like to thank everyone who made this a possibility, the previous executive who drafted the contract, Dr. Colin Greene for being the lead negotiator and for the membership for giving us the unrelenting support which has brought us to this point,” said Charles.
