A clash between the Ministry of Education and Bermuda Union of Teachers (BUT) escalated last night after the Ministry appeared to pour cold water on the reason behind the union's strike threat.

The Ministry later defended its decision to publicise the result of a March 18 arbitration hearing which deemed it did not breach an agreement with the union by removing substitute teachers from the public school system.

A spokesman said the public has a right to know the facts after comments made in the media by the BUT. However, union General Secretary Mike Charles described the move as "absolutely bizarre," telling this newspaper: "That they would make a statement like this, it shows that they just don't act in good faith.

"They called us today and asked if we could meet at short notice and we met today.

"We discussed the situation and frustrations that have caused teachers to take the kind of action that they've voted to take.

"And after sitting down and having what we thought was a good faith discussion with the Ministry, they say something like this. To hear something like that coming from the Ministry, it's really a slap in the face."

The 900-strong union will walk out on April 17 if staff shortages are not addressed. It claims the problem is so severe that some classes have been going unsupervised.

Mr. Charles says the situation was compounded by measures taken by Government last September to remove a number of substitute teachers from the public school system, which had an unacceptable knock-on effect on full-time teachers who are being asked to cover other classes on a daily basis. In last night's press release, the Ministry detailed an arbitration hearing requested through the Ministry of Labour, Home Affairs and Housing by the BUT in the dispute.

It said: "As the public is aware, the Ministry of Education, following a review of its own policy, between August and September 2007 restructured the substitute teacher programme by not renewing any contracts for the assigned substitute teachers for the school year 2007-2008.

"The ultimate goal was to decrease the costs spent on substitute teachers within the public school system while meeting the needs of our students, our first priority.

"A meeting, by the Arbitrator, was held on Tuesday, 18th March 2008. Following that meeting, the Arbitrator ruled that: 'The terms of employment for assigned substitute teachers are not determined by the agreement with the exception of rates of pay and certain benefits'.

"The Ministry of Education's decision to remove all assigned substitute teachers from the public school system was not a breach of the agreement.

"The Ministry of Education, as a representative of the Government, had the authority and right to reach such a determination. In addition, the Ministry remains prepared to meet with the BUT and discuss these matters."

Last night, Mr. Charles questioned the timing of the press statement more than two weeks after the arbitration hearing.

He said "no meaningful contact" had taken place with the Ministry since the strike threat was issued, but the parties had been in talks as late as 5 p.m. yesterday. The press release was issued at 7.46 p.m.

However, a Ministry spokesperson responded by saying the release was sparked by recent comments in the media by the BUT. "We feel it's important that the people of Bermuda are made aware of the ruling so there's no ambiguity," he said.