The Guyana Teacher’s Union (GTU) has officially informed the Ministry of Education of its intention to strike, starting on August 27th, over failed salaries and benefits talks.
Union President Mark Lyte confirmed to Stabroek News that the legally-required notice was delivered at approximately 1:30 pm yesterday though up to press time no one from the Ministry of Education would acknowledge receipt of the correspondence.
For six months the GTU sat as part of a High Level Task Force which at the behest of President David Granger addressed negotiations on teachers’ pay and conditions but after the task force agreed with the majority of the union’s requests, government appears to have completely thrown out their report and on Thursday refused to grant the union most of what it was seeking. In response, the union members directed the executive to begin industrial action from the pre-term.