The recent announcement that long leave for teachers could be reinstated has been welcomed across the education sector, though questions over timing and eligibility remain.
Prime Minister Mia Mottley, speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, said government intends to restore the benefit from 2026, describing the decision as an effort to bring closure to a “long and vexatious matter”.
The news was met with cautious optimism by the Barbados Association of Principals of Public Secondary Schools (BAPPSS), with President Robin Douglas saying the organisation was “extremely encouraged by the words of the Honourable Prime Minister regarding the reinstatement of long leave.”
He added that teachers and administrators “would certainly benefit immensely from such, giving teachers and administrators an opportunity to rest, recuperate, rejuvenate and return with greater inspired attention”.
However, Douglas acknowledged that financial considerations meant the policy might not take effect immediately.
“The expectation would be that if this was to happen it wouldn’t happen within this financial year. These decisions are financial and they would have to be decisions made for the new financial year which would begin in April of 2026,” he said.
Meanwhile, retired educator Jeff Broomes, who was vice-president of the teachers’ union when the leave was suspended, described the announcement as long overdue.
“I am exceedingly pleased to hear that, and I commend the Prime Minister and the government for doing what I honestly believe should have been done a long time ago,” he said.
“I couldn’t understand why that [ended]. I benefited from it, I absolutely benefited from it, and I believe teachers deserve it. People don’t understand… burn out is real, very, very real. My only question now is, I want to know the conditions, because it’s very important.”
Broomes emphasised that those who had been denied leave since 2014 should be prioritised and suggested a review of eligibility.
“I honestly feel that those who lost out and suffered because they had a reasonable expectation and they didn’t get, I feel they should start with them. And secondly, I believe 15 years to be first, maybe a bit long, I would love to think of it as ten years and every five years thereafter,” Broomes said.
The announcement follows years of agitation from teachers’ unions over the suspension of term’s vacation leave in 2014, a move described by the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) as abrupt.
Under the previous arrangement, teachers were entitled to a term off with full pay after 15 years of service, and every five years thereafter. Legal challenges included a 2017 judicial review and a High Court judgment in December 2023, but teachers say many still face rejection letters citing outdated memoranda.
Following the announcement by Mottley on Tuesday, Rudy Lovell, president of the BUT, welcomed the signal of progress but urged timely action.
“The BUT is awaiting consultation on the issue of the term’s vacation leave, which we hope can be resolved by the middle or the end of January,” he said then.
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
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