Dear Editor,
The announcement of a strike by the Guyana Teachers Union General Secretary, who is also an APNU+AFC Member of Parliament, seems to be unwarranted at this time when the government just gave them some good salary increases and other benefits. The Union must not have thought deeply about having an opposition MP making the announcement, rather than the Union President making the announcement. So, charges that the strike is political may gain traction, in light of all the goodwill shown by the President and Ministry.
From the list released by the Chief Education Officer of things done to address teachers’ needs, it seems that the Education Ministry has been fairly responsive to teachers’ concerns. Minister Manickchand is known to be very responsive to teachers’ issues when things are brought to her attention. True, we must return to honouring all Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) across the public service. But some of the recent goodies given by the Government after the President met with a group of teachers exceeded what is in the CBAs.
This shows a willingness on the part of the Government to go beyond the CBAs.
Teachers should have to decide for themselves whether they would follow their union blindly and risk having their paychecks docked for unapproved absences, or whether they would push Union leaders to continue to engage in ongoing dialogue with the Ministry about honouring all agreements. There is sanctity in those agreements.
For its part, the Ministry needs to have serious dialogue with the Union about the massive failure rate of students at both the National Grade 6 Assessment and the CSEC exams. The number one factor responsible for high student achievement is the quality of teaching. When students fail, it is largely due to the poor quality of teaching. There are many good, faithful teachers in the system. There are also some ineffective teachers in the system. Is the Union concerned about all our students passing? Will the Union defend poor teachers who are ineffective in their jobs? Will the Union support the Ministry in terminating such ineffective teachers? The Ministry must push the Union to commit to supporting the cleaning up of bad teachers in schools where those are found. Will the Union support stronger accountability and education reform efforts to modernize Guyana’s education system, or will they fight for the status quo? They cannot only be concerned about “mo money, mo money” and most of our children are failing. How about parents’ rights and children rights to a good education?
Truth be told, teachers are doing better in terms of benefits. That needs to be recognized. You cannot deny the progress made. It would be dishonest to deny the improvements. More needs to be done. But resorting to strike action when other prerequisite steps have not been done, smacks of bullyism. No good deed by the Government goes unpunished. Schools teach conflict mediation. The teachers must demonstrate what they teach. The students are watching. In some countries, teachers are not allowed to strike or form Unions. In Guyana, we can, but we must use the strike weapon responsibly. It cannot be the first resort. I urge the teachers to continue to engage with the Ministry and be reasonable with their demands. I urge the Ministry to move quicker rather than slower. The country relies on a strong, powerful education system where strong accountability is a priority. Let’s work together in a spirit of compromise. Let’s do it for the children.
Sincerely,
M. Singh
