A&BUT president says sorry

The president of the Antigua and Barbuda Union of Teachers, Ashworth Azille, is apologising to the Board of Directors of the Christ the King High School, for any reputational damage that the institution may have incurred, as a result of a statement he made on May 25, 2017.
While delivering his annual “State of the Union” address, Azille criticised the Board, because of how it thought it was handling paternity leave applications.
In a press statement, dated October 27, 2017, Azille, says his “handling of the matter proved to be unjustified and therefore pre-emptive.”
Azille said in May of 2017, that the Union would take action against the Board of Directors of the Christ the King High School, for failing to give paternity leave to a male staff member.
But further investigation into the matter revealed that the staff member had asked for paternity leave and notably, days before he wanted the time off.
The chairman of the Board of the Christ the King High School, Joan Underwood, had said the period of notice would not have given the school enough time to prepare for the member’s departure.
Underwood says the matter, though seemingly old, had to be pursued, because it was giving a bad name to the faith-based institution.
She says following the incident, the board took the matter to the Labour Department.
A meeting was held with the labour commissioner in September 2017 and  it was decided that the union would issue a public apology to the school. That was welcomed news for Underwood.