Dear Editor,
For the second consecutive month, teachers in Berbice will be paid late.
We have not been paid as yet, and no one knows when salaries will be paid to us. In fact, there are rumours that we might have to wait until next month for our salaries.
Why is this? Why are Berbice teachers who work diligently, and make countless sacrifices for their students, now being denied their duly earned salary on time? This is not a favour that the Government of Guyana grants to us, but is our constitutional right. We are entitled to a salary on time, and demand that the Ministry of Education fulfils its responsibility towards us.
The morale in the workplace has become unbelievably low. The Minister of Education, who has in the past been stressing the need for teachers to work hard and to fulfil their obligations is now silent about whether, if and when, the Ministry of Education will fulfil its own responsibility and obligation to pay teachers on time.
What do we have to do to get our salaries on time? Do we have to protest and burn roads before anyone takes notice of our plight?
The Ministry of Education and the Government of Guyana are sending a dangerous message to its public servants: these late salaries tell us that the government is not serious about meeting its legal obligations.
The non-payment of salaries is also affecting commerce, and hurting every single family in Berbice. For those single parents with only one source of income, how will they pay their utility bills and buy even the most essential items such as food? We in Berbice do not live in mansions and drive fancy cars like some officials. We live on tight budgets and are severely hurt when we are not paid on time.
Come on! We deserve our salaries to be paid on time.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)
