Teachers threaten to return to the streets as salary talks collapse

Mar 13, 2024 News

---

Kaieteur News – Teachers are prepared to return to the streets after discussions between the Ministry of Education and the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) over salary increases collapsed on Tuesday.

President of GTU, Dr. Mark Lyte, told the media on Tuesday that the Union will be heading back to the High Court in wake of a breakdown. The GTU and Education Ministry had agreed to engage in talks towards solving teachers’ salary woes following the Court appointed mediation process. The mediation was also geared towards bringing an end to five weeks of protest and industrial action led by teachers across the country.

During an emergency press conference held at the GTU’s headquarters on Woolford Avenue, the GTU President accused the Ministry of Education of reneging on an earlier agreement that the two sides would discuss salary increases for teachers for the period 2019-2023 in accordance with the multi-year agreement.

Dr. Lyte told members of the media that “We are going to take this matter back to the Court for the Court to adjudicate on the matter. We are at present, in consultation with our lawyers, and we believe that reneging on the first position taken, and the legitimacy of the signed agreement coming out of the first meeting is placing this administration as one that we cannot trust.”

He explained that the negotiations fizzled after the Education Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Shannielle Hoosein- Outar, showed up at the meeting to introduce herself as the “chief negotiator” for the Government and making it clear that the Government has no intention to discuss a wage package for the period 2019-2023. Lyte noted this was after the Chief Education Officer during the first meeting identified himself as the “chief negotiator” for the Education Ministry,  and consulted with his superiors before agreeing that the talks on increase salaries would be done based on the multi-year agreement 2019-2023. “We were not even settled when the permanent secretary indicated that the Government will not negotiate as agreed on at last Thursday’s meeting from 2019-2023…The Union resolutely put forward its position that we are not interested in discussing any multi-year proposal from 2024 and beyond because we have not submitted such,” Dr. Lyte said.

Dr. Lyte explained further that at the time, “The Chief Education Officer, who was then the chief negotiator, went to his principals two hours and five minutes to consult and came back with a position, as documented in the minutes that they are prepared to have talks 2019-2023 proposal.” GTU President said too that it was disrespectful for the Permanent Secretary to suggest that the Union should return to its members to discuss a new proposal that spans 2024 and beyond, since there is no fiscal space to accommodate the proposed increases for 2019-2023.

As such, he said that the GTU after consultations with its attorneys on the legal actions to be taken, it will consider other actions, including the resumption of the strike. “We are making it clear that the Union will not be bullied by the Government, it would appear that the Government is divided on the issue…For obvious reasons, all the options are before us, strike being the one that we would have called off, and strike being a possible action that could resume. In fact, calling off of the strike was temporary to have these discussions take place. So, this nation can be plunged again into a nationwide strike action because the thousands of teachers across this country are disappointed in the action of this administration and they will be held accountable for this,” the GTU President said.

General Secretary of the Teachers’ Union, Coretta McDonald said the Union will press on with its representation of its members. “I want to say to our teachers, thank you for being this resilient, and that we will continue to have this fight because we are in a struggle for survival. And I just want to quote from Maya Angelou, who said, ‘you will face many defeats in life but never allow yourself to be defeated.’ So, as a teaching fraternity that’s what we will go forward with,” McDonald said.

Meanwhile, in a statement, the Ministry of Education said that the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education informed the representatives that fiscal provisions for prior year increases were not provided for in the 2024 budget. She reiterated that teachers would have benefitted from across-the-board salary increases given in previous years and asked the representatives to discuss the salary proposals commencing from 2024. The Ministry indicated however, that President of the Guyana Teachers’ Union, Dr. Lyte, said that the Union did not prepare a proposal for 2024 onwards.  As a result, the Permanent Secretary asked that the Union prepare this proposal and submit same to the Ministry for continued discussion. The Union objected to this request and stated that they are unwilling to discuss any other item on the agenda unless the ministry addresses the prior year increases. “They subsequently left the meeting without setting a date for the next meeting.

The Ministry of Education reiterates its commitment to continuing dialogue with the Guyana Teachers’ Union which has produced several noteworthy results to the benefit of teachers, children, and the system as a whole,” the Education Ministry said in its release.

---

• collapse, Dr. Mark Lyte, President of GTU, salary, talks

---