MARIGOT–Caisse Territoriale des Oeuvres Scolaires (CTOS) informs parents of students that the Collectivité has received a strike notice from UTC-UGTG union concerning CTOS and Collectivité employees. This unlimited strike notice takes effect today, Wednesday, January 30, and may cause disruption in the operation of the school canteens
. The CTOS management warns parents canteens may get blocked and invites them to pick up their children for lunch for reasons of safety and supervision of students. Caisse Territoriale des Oeuvres Scolaires would like to apologize to parents and children for these disruptions beyond its control.
Union UTC-UGTG is protesting the termination of 16 staff contracts, among other issues. This is the second strike at the kitchen since December. CTOS via its Central Kitchen provides some 4,000 meals daily to 19 school canteens, and also operates after-school programmes for 600 children. In 2017, the former board of CTOS announced it had a
3-million-euro deficit which it attributed partly to mismanagement, food wastage, lack of portion control, inefficient purchasing, and lack of incoming and outgoing controls on merchandise.
Another cause for the deficit was some 2 million euros paid to employees in 2016, based on a protocol agreement signed in 2010, when it should have been paid in increments on a yearly basis. Money owed from private schools, and unpaid bills also contributed to the deficit.
Since then the Collectivité has been forced to reorganize the structure of CTOS and its financing, not least because of unfavourable audits done by the Territorial Accounting Chamber. This led to the installation of a new CTOS board in 2018, headed by President Pascale Alix-Laborde.
Laborde told newspaper 97150 in an interview that the annual budget of CTOS is 12.6 million euros, but 88 per cent of that goes towards personnel expenses. She also noted high operation and personnel cost means that producing one meal costs 19.79 euros, whereas meals are sold for three euros in primary schools and four euros in secondary schools.
She said reorganization, change of schedules and fixing finances is bound to be unpopular, but very necessary to get CTOS back on track and avoid State supervision, which could put more staff at risk. The decision was made not to hire any new employees or replace those who have retired. She disclosed she had secured a moratorium on paying 1.45 million euros of social charges that had accumulated over the years.
President Daniel Gibbs and CTOS President Pascale Alix-Laborde will meet with a delegation from the union Wednesday afternoon to address the union’s grievances.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/84839-ctos-employees-striking-today-parents-advised-to-collect-their-children-for-lunch
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