After 12 years of frustration and protest, teachers will once again benefit from term’s leave, with the government on Monday confirming the long-sought entitlement will be reinstated from April 1.
Term leave allows eligible teachers to be granted a full school term off with pay after 15 years of service and every five years thereafter.
“It therefore now gives me great pleasure… to be able to announce to the country that the term’s leave is officially reinstated as of the 1st of April 2026,” Minister of Education Transformation Chad Blackman announced in a press conference`.
He said: “The management of the ministry had a very fruitful and definitive meeting with our trade union partners to bring resolution to a long-standing matter which of course has been the subject of great public debate over the last 12 years, namely the reinstating of what is commonly referred to as the pre-2014 term’s leave to those teachers who meet the criteria.”
The provision, which allowed teachers a full term of paid leave after 15 years of service and every five years thereafter, was suspended in 2014 under the previous Democratic Labour Party administration as part of measures to reduce the government’s wage bill during austerity measures. At the time, the teaching service avoided job cuts faced by other public sector workers, but the leave arrangement was restricted to first-time applicants and those nearing retirement.
Subsequent changes to the public service’s General Order 5.1 in 2015 were intended to last one year, but the restriction remained in place for over a decade, prompting sustained advocacy by the Barbados Union of Teachers, the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union and other interest groups. The issue escalated in recent years, including a two-day strike by the BUT last April and legal action dating back to 2017.
Blackman acknowledged the protracted negotiations and credited unions and teachers for maintaining pressure on the issue.
“I want to start by unreservedly thanking our unions for not just their patience but their strong advocacy holding us of course to the fire but doing so in good faith and being able to represent their members,” he said. “Today of course therefore is a momentous day and no doubt one that marks an incredible relief to our nation’s educators and by extension their families.”
He confirmed that Cabinet approval, along with coordination between the ministries of education, finance and the public service, paved the way for implementation while ensuring minimal disruption to teaching and learning.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education Transformation Kim Belle outlined how the policy will operate, returning to its pre-2014 framework.
“Teachers would be eligible for their term’s leave after serving 15 years of service. That is the first group. And then after that, every five years, teachers can get that term’s leave,” Belle said.
She noted that the ministry will now move to address a backlog of eligible teachers accumulated over the past 12 years, supported by an electronic application system.
“Because we do know there will be a backlog because we’re looking at a period of say 12 years… it would allow us to be able to move a bit quickly in relation to determining who those persons are eligible,” she said.
Belle added that caps will remain in place to protect continuity in the classroom, limiting leave approvals to 140 teachers at the primary level and 110 at the secondary level per term, with no more than ten per cent of a school’s staff absent at any given time.
“We still need to be mindful of making sure that the teaching and learning process is not negatively impacted in any way when the term’s leave is granted,” she said.
While officials could not immediately provide a precise figure for those eligible, Belle said there are about 3 500 teachers across primary and secondary schools. She explained that while first-time applicants and those nearing retirement continued to access leave over the past decade, the reinstatement now extends to those eligible for second and third periods, with applications to be prioritised to ensure fairness as the backlog is cleared.
Addressing concerns about classroom disruption, she said teachers proceeding on leave would continue to be replaced through the existing recruitment system, supported by an expanded pool of pre-interviewed candidates to allow vacancies to be filled more efficiently.
Blackman signalled that the move forms part of broader efforts to strengthen the sector.
“As a ministry we are also very cognisant and believe strongly that our dedicated educators deserve the best. They deserve the best,” he said.
He added that the government remains committed to building a first-class education system, with teachers positioned at the centre of that agenda.
From left: CTUSAB president Ryan Phillips, BSTU president MaryAnn Redman, PS in the Ministry of Education Transformation Kim Belle and Minister Chad Blackman (Phot Credit: Sheria Brathwaite)
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
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