Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons has called Government's failure to pay more than 100 teachers on time "unacceptable, unnecessary and avoidable."

Speaking on World Teachers' Day, Dr. Gibbons called on Education Minister El James to "rectify the situation immediately."

This newspaper reported yesterday that 15 teachers were not paid at the end of last month and another 90 were not paid for their scale post positions.

The Ministry of Education said the teachers would be paid this week, and apologised for the error.

But Dr. Gibbons said: "Classroom teachers have enough challenges on their plate with a new school year — which includes implementing a new and rigorous Cambridge curriculum — without having to worry about the personal and domestic consequences of not being properly paid for their work.

"Trust is an important factor in any employment relationship, particularly when the Government is asking teachers to cooperate in the education reform process.

"Given the severe strains put on that trust recently, the last thing the Ministry should be doing is undercutting it further by not paying salaries in a timely manner."

He continued: "We need to have teachers fully focused on the important job of educating our children and anything which disrupts that is very counterproductive.

"We're not sure why the Government is failing to pay teachers. What we are sure of is the negative impact such negligence has on teacher morale. It is all so unnecessary and avoidable."

On Monday, Bermuda Union of Teachers (BUT) general secretary Mike Charles highlighted the situation as another example of teachers not being treated properly by Government.

"They can't tell their creditors anything as to when they can pay their car payments or their rent. This is incompetent.

"When people have payments to make and they plan their budgets and you look and you don't find the money in your bank account, it's not nice."

World Teachers Day was celebrated on the steps of City Hall yesterday morning in a ceremony attended by Sir Richard Gozney, BUT president Keisha Douglas and Dr. Gibbons.