Embattled educator Adriana King says she would stage a “one-man protest” outside of the Service Commissions Department in Kingstown if the government does not pay this month all monies owed to her over the last three years.
King, who is also an activist, was suspended from the classroom in 2021 and placed on half-pay pending the outcome of criminal charges brought against her.
Last month, a magistrate freed her and four other protesters of a charge that they held a public meeting outside Parliament.
The magistrate’s decision ended the last of the six charges against King.
However, Director of Public Prosecution, Sejilla McDowall has given notice of her intention to appeal the decision of Magistrate John Ballah to stay the prosecution of King on an August 2021 charge that she tried to block Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves’ access to Parliament.
King, speaking Monday on the Public Service Union’s radio programme, said that even her end-of-year allowance had been affected.
She said education officials had halted the payment of the allowance without informing her.
“… nobody has written to me to say why they stopped my end-of-year allowance. To this day, I have no correspondence from the Ministry of Education,” she said.
She said she happened to bump up on Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Myccle Burke sometime around February.
“And then is when he was informing me that they sent the matter to the AG’s office. After they’ve stopped my allowance, they’re now sending a letter to the AG to ask him on what grounds should they stop my allowance,” King said.
“I ended up getting about, I think $400 or something like that, from my end-of-year allowance. And nobody, again, has said to me, ‘This is why you only got part of your allowance.’”
King asked whether people were making their own laws in the country.
“What sort of lawlessness is really happening here? But I’ll tell you this … I’m waiting patiently to see if the CPO Arline Regisford is going to do what she’s supposed [to].”
King said there was no case pending against her, adding that the court has not granted a stay of execution of its ruling.
“So, I’m waiting to see if Arlene Regisford is going to deny me my salary and what is owed to me at the end of this month.
“And if when I checked my pay slip the night that you know salaries are released and there’s nothing there, as in what should be there, I’m going to be mounting a one-man protest outside of the Service Commissions. I am going to do that. I will be there protesting for me.
“You have to do what you need to do. I have to stand up for myself. I was able to stand up for everybody else. I have to stand up for me now. So I’ll be standing up for myself.”
King spoke of her experience being held in unsanitary conditions during her arrests, the first of which was at her home in the presence of her daughter, a minor, by officers from the Rapid Response Unit (“Black Squad”) a tactical unit of the police force.
“Of course, my health has been taking a toll and there are certain things I would not discuss on air, but people who know me know exactly the issues that I have been facing,” King said.
“The bills, having mounted up, mortgage payments went into arrears,” King further said, adding that she is not the type of person “to always be complaining about things.
“I try to fight and I try to make my way through,” she said, adding that she has learnt to sew.
“I do a bit of baking now. I do some online classes, whatever it takes to ensure that I keep food on my table and that my daughter is taken care of. One of the things I try my hardest to do is to ensure that she is not affected as much as I am,” said King, a single mother.
There’s people who are home in this vincy who haven’t been in a classroom for yrs,but ,because they’re closely associated with this government, they continue to get their pay. On the other hand,this woman, who wants to work is being victimized, because she allegedly blocked the pm’s entrance into parliament. That’s utter nonsense.
We have so much murders in this country and these people finding time to harass this lady. How can professionals allow a man to have them doing this to a human being? How can a woman allow a man to make them do this to a woman? Do they believe these acts of wickedness would go unpaid? These sins wipp follow you and your kids to the third and fourth generation
My sister, one thing we know is that God will work it out. Even if he’s a million years late, He will still be on time, for a thousand years in His sight is like an evening gone. When you pray call all ah dem name and every cross road you meet , call them to.