GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC—Students returned to their classrooms on Monday after the Easter vacation, with the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) warning that it could resume industrial action if the Government fails to resume the negotiations on salary increases for its members.
GTU president Dr. Mark Lyte said in a statement that the union’s General Council made several decisions regarding the ongoing impasse with the Government. The last strike lasted from February 5 to March 4.
“It was unanimously agreed that our teachers must return to strike action, having not heard from the government side in 26 days about how we are going to address the salary matters about teachers. So, the first option that was given was a resumption of strike action by all educators across Guyana,” Lyte said.
He said that since talks between the union and the Ministry of Education broke down on March 12 following the court-ordered mediation process, the Irfaan Ali government has made no effort to resume them.
Before the collapse of the talks, the Ministry of Education, in a statement, said some of the matters identified for discussion by the GTU are the salary matters included in the multi-year proposal 2019-2023, the two percent difference in salary for 2017, and 2018, clothing allowance increase and Whitley Council being paid every three years.
It also identified discussion teacher absenteeism and punctuality, poor performing schools, continuous professional education, and completion of syllabus.
The GTU is seeking a 25 percent salary increase for 2019 and a 20 percent wage hike for each of the years from 2020 to 2023.
The collective bargaining between the GTU and the Education Ministry is in accordance with a High Court-ordered mediation agreement that ended a 29-day nationwide teacher strike.
The meeting was chaired by the Permanent Secretary of the Education Ministry, Shannielle Hoosein-Outar, who upheld the Government’s position that discussions surrounding salary increases should be from 2024 onwards.
However, in his statement, Lyte said the GTU is resolute in its position, and if teachers return to the streets, they will not stop until their demands are met.
“This time, when the strike action will be initiated, meaning when teachers are called out to strike, there will not be any resumption until our negotiations are completed,” Lyte said, adding that the GTU executive will decide on the date for the resumption of the strike action, and teachers should await its decision.
Lyte said the Council had also provided other options, including pressing the Government for a mutually agreed arbitration process and/or initiating legal proceedings against the Ministry of Labour for failing to execute the mandate to settle disputes between state employees and trade unions.
Meanwhile, the substantive court case by the GTU regarding the legality of the Government’s decision to withhold the salaries of teachers who are striking and to halt the deduction of union dues from the salaries of teachers on behalf of the union will continue on Wednesday.
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