Education Minister Tim Smith yesterday announced the Bermuda Union of Teachers and his department had reached an agreement on the lunch-time dispute.

Earlier this year, the BUT were upset over the extra hours some teachers worked during their lunch periods.

BUT president Michael Charles had said some middle school teachers had been working close to four hours without a break and getting as little as 20 minutes for lunch under the reformed system because they were supervising students .

According to the terms of their collective agreement, teachers are entitled to a minimum of 45 minutes for lunch at least four times a week.

On February 11, the BUT filed a grievance with the Ministry.

Yesterday, Mr. Smith said the problem stemmed from the restructuring and transition of the Middle School system.

"This will now cease,'' he said. "Principals will ensure that all timetables for September, 1998 will comply with the collective agreement.'' And Mr. Smith said that the issue of preparation time and marking periods had also been resolved.

"The union claimed that the Ministry failed to provide a minimum of five preparation periods,'' he said. "This also has been resolved and principals will ensure that teachers get adequate preparation time from September.''