– promotions review begins
A three-night candlelight vigil held by the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) has yielded results in two important areas as there will no longer be paid parking in the vicinity of public schools and the long-delayed review of the 2015 preliminary senior promotions list has begun.
In a joint press statement, the Mayor and City Council, GTU and parking meter company Smart City Solutions (SCS) said that after giving due and special consideration to the critical and fundamental role that teachers play in the education and development of the nation’s children, it was agreed that vehicle parking spaces immediately in front of the public schools will not be regulated for the purpose of metered parking by SCS.
This decision came after the three entities had a joint meeting yesterday and followed three days of protest action by the union, which was triggered in part by the placement of parking meters in front of city schools.
Stabroek News attempted to gain clarification from SCS communications consultant Kit Nascimento on the implications of this concession. Asked how SCS would identify those parking in the vicinity of public schools as teachers and if other members of the public would be unable to use those parking spaces in front of public schools, Nascimento said, “Any vehicle will be free to park in those places as is currently and has been the prevailing status [since] SCS will not be regulating parking spaces in front of the public schools.”
In response to a query about how SCS would respond if/when the providers of other essential services such as health care professionals requested the same consideration being offered to teachers, he said the statement sets out the reasons why special consideration has been granted in this instance.
Beginning on Tuesday and ending on Thursday, scores of GTU members from the East Coast, Georgetown and West Coast Demerara branches held candlelight vigils on Main Street. The teachers chose to have the vigils in front of the official residences of the President and the Prime Minister because they wanted the numerous issues and concerns facing Guyana’s teachers to be given the attention they deserve.
One the first day, the union was engaged by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, who provided no guarantees beyond a promise to speak with subject ministers about the issues raised and have them addressed.
However, the next day brought results as the Teaching Service Commission (TSC), which had been engaged in a protracted legal battle with the union over the promotion of senior teachers, began a court ordered review of those promotions and invited the union to observe.
It was in November last year that the High Court directed the TSC to review the 2015 senior promotions, following an application made by the union; this process did not begin until after the protest action.
President of the GTU Mark Lyte told Stabroek News that he hopes these victories continue into the new week when the union will hold another three-day vigil.
Still to be addressed is the protracted negotiation for a new multi-year agreement on wages, salaries and allowances. This negotiation has been ongoing since 2015. Additionally, several provisions from the previous multi-year agreement are still to be fulfilled, included provisions for duty-free concessions and debunching.
According to Lyte, the GTU which met with the Ministry of Education and Chief Labour Officer Charles Ogle earlier this month, expects wage and salary negotiations to conclude by February month end.
In a brief statement issued yesterday, Leader of the Opposition Bharrat Jagdeo called on the government to respect previous commitments made by the former PPP/C government with the GTU under the Five Year Multi-Year Agreement.
Jagdeo said the parliamentary opposition calls for an urgent resolution to the teachers’ demands, including respect for the specific agreements concluded under the now expired multi-year agreement, including the duty-free concessions and treatment of the Whitley Council leave.
“The urgency of these issues cannot be over-emphasized. The delinquency of the government with regards to these important issues affecting the teachers of this country is unacceptable,” the statement added.
It further said that the parliamentary opposition supports the leadership of GTU in its demand for a confirmation of an urgent meeting between the union and the government.
