Former President of WITU Claire Elshot.
PHILIPSBURG--Claire Elshot-Aventurin, a teacher and trade union activist, has been a pioneer in unionism in St. Maarten for almost three decades.
Elshot recently sat with The Daily Herald and spoke briefly of her years in the teacher’s union.
She got her start in unionism in August 1979 soon after assuming her role as a teacher in Curaçao. Immediately upon signing her contract with the Catholic school board she also signed her membership form for the largest teacher’s union in Curaçao, SITEK.
She was an active member at the time who rarely, if ever, missed any meetings held. “I was a very attentive member,” she said.
She first migrated to St. Maarten in August 1988 to continue her career in education. She began her tenure as a remedial education teacher for which she was brought to the island to work in the field.
While in St. Maarten Elshot learnt that there was a teachers’ union, but it was somewhat dormant at the time. A small group of teachers took the initiative to get it back up and running, and a new board was elected in early 1994. At this time the name Windward Islands Teacher Union (WITU) was chosen by vote amongst members.
The board member elections took place in January and Elshot was encouraged to postulate herself due to her active involvement in the union. She was one of the key persons at the time involved in the revitalisation of the teachers union in St. Maarten.
After tying for president with fellow member Julian Lynch, she won the seat as the first President of WITU by a margin of one vote. Elshot continued to be voted in as
president of the board for 27 years, until 2021, when she passed on the baton to current President Stuart Johnson.
The early days of WITU started with a small number of members that she saw grow from less than 50 to almost 400 persons over the years. She told how the union had started “from a shoe-box” to eventually reach the milestone of being able to secure its very own location.
Elshot re-lived one of her early observances when first joining the union. This was the difference in the salaries received in St. Maarten when compared to what teachers were receiving in Curaçao. Elshot and the board set out to rectify notable and discriminatory salary discrepancies. Lengthy negotiations, meetings and court cases ensued.
During this time Elshot was also embraced by Theophilus Thompson of Workers Institute for Organised Labour (WIFOL). She told how he was able to provide guidance and knowledge on unionism in St. Maarten. This proved to be quite helpful for the new president.
During her early years in WITU she opened herself to learning as much as she could about trade unionism and laws, attended regional and international conferences and was introduced to the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Elshot said she had spent a great deal of time taking part in training, workshops and obtaining as much knowledge as possible from international peers. She credits this open wealth of information to which she was exposed in the beginning as being an eye-opener and guiding force in her drive into being the advocate she was able to be.
She also touched on the impact of damage caused by the passing of Hurricane Luis in 1995 and the union’s role during that time.
Elshot also spoke of the union’s struggle in seeking ways to improve the salary structure. During this time, innovations to the education system were being made, but she noted that this was not taking into account the salary structure for teachers. Elshot said it had been a mission of the union to push for realistic salary scales that were in line with a person’s position in their field (of education). She explained that this had been a tedious process that took time.
She was crucial in advocating that teachers who were relocating to the country to work as teachers could receive a liveable pension once they had retired.
Elshot was a force to be reckoned with during her years as president of WITU. She recounted several moments of strikes held, court cases supporting teachers, sitting in Parliament and constant advocation for teachers. This could be attributed to her repeated re-election as president of WITU’s board. Members were adamant that she remain to continue the processes and developments that she was working towards at the moment. The membership also continued to increase in numbers during this time.
Lately, Elshot has taken a step back from active unionism. She currently remains as the chairperson of Windward Islands Chamber of Labour Unions (WICLU), which is an umbrella organisation of labour unions. She also is an advisor to the current WITU board.
She said that her presence and support will always continue in trade unionism in St. Maarten, but she is happy to be able to pass on the baton to the new body of driven individuals who will continue to advocate for workers and their rights in St. Maarten.
