Strike one

So while the gas dealers never striked even though they didn't get the full cut they were asking for, the biggest news on island right now is the salary raise promised to teachers last year due tomorrow--and how it's not going to happen.

And the Teachers Union already decided if they don't get their raise, they will not go to schools for three full days.

This past Monday they didn't attend because they had an emergency meeting, where they made this decision. Government (that's how it's said here, not "the government," similar to saying "he was rushed to hospital," no article) announced last week that it didn't have enough money to meet the second part of the raise that was initiated last year (there was a "meeting"/strike held on the second Monday of Term 1, back in September, where they negotiated this raise with government).

The teachers I've listened to the past couple of days argue that it's more than just a broken promise, it's actually breaking a legal contract. They say that government shouldn't have agreed to a raise that it wouldn't be able to deliver. The raise was made partly because teachers are not reimbursed in any part for purchases made for the classroom.

The government officials that have commented publicly cite the global economic crisis. Though it hasn't been mentioned directly in this context, a few months ago government provided a bailout to the tourism industry, since it is directly dependent on the currently failing economies of places like the UK and the US. Provisions such as this have dramatically and unexpectedly depleted already strained government assets.

So it looks like we'll miss another three days of school (Thursday, Friday, Monday) right at the beginning of the most important Term as far as test prep goes. Examinations for Minimum Standards, Common Entrance for secondary schools, and CXE (sort of like SATs) are coming up at the end of the term in June.

Because of the possible/very likely strike, the District Six Sports Meet scheduled for Friday has been postponed (again) to early May. This means I'll get to attend the swearing in of the new Peace Corps group and the Barrier Analysis meeting afterwards. I'm looking forward to both.

In other news (food related, of course) I made bread pudding two ways last night. One was savory with my veggie mainstays (spinach, tomato, onion, sweet (green bell) pepper), cheese, and plenty of egg; the other was sweet with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, currants, and chopped plantains. They're both delicious! I'm superglad that I read one particularly encouraging blog recipe. It said that it's pretty much impossible to mess up bread pudding. I like to think mine wasn't anywhere close from messing up, but I'm probably not the best judge of that.