Teachers marched on the grounds of the Cabinet Office yesterday morning over concerns about ongoing contract negotiations.

The demonstration, involving around 600 Bermuda Union of Teachers representatives, trustees, and teachers, came shortly after the union held an “emergency general membership meeting” at St Paul Centennial Hall.

According to Mike Charles of the BUT, the demonstration was sparked by a lack of progress in negotiations between the union and the Public Service Negotiating Team.

While negotiations began in January, Mr Charles said the parties had only met on four occasions with little progress made.

“We had to go sit with our teachers to report to them what was happening and they said that things have not progressed fast enough,” he said. “There are a combination of things. It’s not only that. We have teachers working in sick buildings and not enough resources, so teachers [have] had enough.”

He described the demonstration as a “show of solidarity” intended by the teachers to display their disapproval.

Mr Charles noted that Cole Simons, the Minister of Education, had sat down with the BUT in the wake of the demonstration, but that as of yesterday afternoon no solid time had been set to return to the negotiating table.

He said it would be up to the BUT members if there would be any further action by the union, saying: “We will send them a report of the meeting we had with the minister today and we hope that we can get back to the meeting table as soon as possible so we can come up with a solution that benefits everyone.”

Asked if he was optimistic that the meeting with the minister might accelerate the negotiation process, he said: “We always live in hope. That’s what keeps us going. We hope to have a meeting soon. That’s all we can do. “This government has not shown any interest in dealing with the public schools and they show that day by day. This is just another example.”

According to a release, Mr Simons said he first learnt of the protest at around 10am. He met with members of the BUT executive a short time later at union headquarters.

“It was important for me as Minister to hear the concerns of the teachers and determine what can be done to address the concerns,” he said.

The midday meeting lasted for approximately one hour.

“The BUT indicated that there had not been any meaningful progress since the last meeting between the two sides during the third week of March,” he said. Though not involved in the negotiations, Mr Simons said he wanted to provide the Premier with an update on the concern of the BUT.

“It is important and in everyone’s interest that we get negotiations back on track, especially since I consider that our teachers are our number one asset.”

In a statement yesterday afternoon, Progressive Labour Party education spokesman Diallo Rabain said neglect of schools, disrespect of teachers, and ignoring student safety had become “the norm”.

“Today’s protest may have come as a surprise to the OBA, but for the rest of Bermuda this latest protest was inevitable,” he said.

“It is difficult to tell the people trusted to educate and protect our children that there is no money for the basic necessities to ensure them a quality education because Bermuda is broke.

“Bermuda can do better and it will do better when we have a government that cares and invests in all of Bermuda.”