24051: Arthur (publish) Teachers' union criticises interim government (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Tttnhm@aol.com

UNNOH accuses the interim government of not having adopted any measures to
facilitate the reopening of schools located in insecure zones.

Port-au-Prince, January 7 2005 (AHP)- The coordinator of the National Union
of Haitian Trainee Teachers (UNNOH), Josué Mérilien, on Friday denounced the
behaviour of the interim authorities that have not, he says, adopted any
measures to favour the reopening of schools on Monday January 10 in certain
shanty-town neighbourhoods, notably Bel Air and Cite Soleil.

Josué Mérilien also criticised the decision of Minister of Education, Pierre
Buteau, to compel pupils and students of state schools in the zones said to be
at risk to follow their courses in "schools situated far from their
neighbourhoods".

"Will the Ministry of Education make special payments to the teachers who
will have to run up additional expenses in order to travel to these other
education centres?" asked Mr. Mérilien.

He called on the interim government to assume its responsibilities regarding
guaranteeing the security of all the school establishments in the country.

The UNNOH coordinator also declared his support for the eight-day strike
observed by the resident doctors at the general hospital as part of their claim
for the payment of three months' back pay and better working conditions. Josué
Mérilien also warned doctors about those who favour a compromise with Minister
of Public Health, Josette Bijou, with the aim of breaking the strike at the
country's largest hospital.

The UNNOH coordinator considers the refusal of interim authorities to satisfy
the resident doctors' demands and put an end to the crisis as evidence of the
government's ultra neo-liberal character. He also denounced the interim
government's moves to privatise the state hospital.
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(translated from French by Charles Arthur for the Haiti Support Group:
www.haitisupport.gn.apc.org)

For anyone interested in labour issues in Haiti, there is quite a good source
of material on the LaborStart web site: http://www.laborstart.org/

Checking the 2004 archive section for Haiti I found 193 entries - most of
them URL links that still work.