The Ministry of Education is seeking legal clarification on the impending strike action by the Solomon Islands Teachers' Association, SINTA.
Permanent Secretary, Barnabas Anga, in a letter to the Secretary to Prime Minister wrote on the view that the strike action could be unlawful.Mr. Anga is quoted as stating he is pursuing clarification from the Chambers of the Attorney-General along with advice on the appropriate measures to hold teachers responsible for the consequences of their actions.
He questioned the significance of the vote on which the Association has made in favour of the strike action, with only 154 teachers voting in favour of the strike while 10 teachers voted against the action.
Mr. Anga questioned if the vote was in compliance with the constitution of SINTA and the standing order for their meeting.
He said despite indications of government commitment to issues raised by SINTA in various meetings between the Education Minister, Dr. Derek Sikua, officials from the ministry and SINTA, the members of the Association still decided to proceed with the nation-wide strike.
Mr. Anga said the strike action has now affected the commencement of Term 3 of the 2007 academic year.