Dear Editor,
Red Thread stands in solidarity with all categories of low-wage workers, be it nurses, domestics, teachers, security guards, waitresses and bartenders. As grassroots women ourselves we know the hardship these categories of workers face as it relates to a living wage and better working conditions, especially given the rising cost of living we are dealing with right now which is making it impossible to make ends meet. Today, February 5th February, 2024, teachers across all ten regions decided to support the strike that was called by the Guyana Teachers Union. We applaud this move, recognizing that it should be a strike demanding respect for the collective bargaining process that successive governments appear to have abandoned, and the right for teachers to have a living wage, and better living and working conditions.
Three members from Red Thread decided to join the protest action as we feel that the teachers are the educators of our children, a job that consists of a lot of caring work which is invisible and attracts little or no pay. However, when we reached the picket line, we saw a crowd of people, a few had placards and it looked like one big party. In our view, a protest action is a serious action, and as such it should have been more organized; placards should have been more visible showing what is it that teachers are striking for, using the picket line to educate the public about the conditions teachers are facing and why dealing with those conditions lifts everyone up, teachers, children and the whole society. In any protest actions, it is also important for people to stay clear of any party political entanglement as this takes away from your actions, as you will be then labeled either opposition or government.
Focus on the issues and don’t let the politicians on either side try to use you. Once more we stress that caring work is hard work and all categories of persons doing these kinds of work should be adequately paid. The government has just announced a gigantic budget but ask yourself, what from this gigantic sum is trickling down to the people, for example, teachers who have the task of teaching our children to read and write? We demand that the government pay the teachers a livable wage and give us budgets that invest in caring, not just roads as poor people can’t eat roads.
Sincerely,
Halima Khan
Joy Marcus
Susan Collymore
Wintress White
Vanessa Ross
Red Thread
