As their union’s strike enters the fourth day today, teachers yesterday kept up the pressure on the government for collective bargaining.
Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) General Secretary Coretta McDonald yesterday told this newspaper that the third day of the strike has seen significant improvement as more teachers ventured out in support. The reason for this, she noted, is because teachers are angry at the Ministry of Education (MoE)’s decision to cease union dues deductions from teachers’ salaries.
“The actions of the government yesterday [Tuesday], it has angered teachers. And so, teachers who weren’t on the industrial action yesterday, or the day before they turned out today because they recognize exactly what the government is trying to do. They’re not only trying to dissolve the GTU, but they are they’re now going to (control) teachers. Because if you have the union, and they’re doing this to you, much less if you don’t have a union… teachers have recognized the importance of being unionized. And so, when the government decided to go that low, teachers got angry,” she told Stabroek News.
McDonald further noted that after the notice was released on Tuesday, teachers began to make comparisons between the government’s treatment of the GTU and the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU).
“How are we different from GAWU? The folks from GAWU striking and I never hear the PPP government saying that they gon cut the salaries. We ain’t hear them saying that they gon stop deducting the dues from their salaries and remitting it to their union. But we’ve seen the government saying we’re going to meet with GAWU, we’re going to meet with GAWU, [and] we’re going to meet with GAWU. Alright, well, we’re all going to down arms, we’re going to pick up cutlasses and we’re going to become sugar harvesters, so they gon look after us, since teachers are not important”.
With regard to the allegation by various government ministries that the strike is illegal and political, McDonald reiterated that it is not and that teachers are striking on their own accord.
“Our teachers are out there and they understand the reason why they’re out there. And our teachers were not forced to be out there. Nobody forced them to be out there. They came out by themselves, willingly,” she noted, whilst adding that the teachers had advocated for the union executives to do their bidding or be voted out.
“The teachers said they have been extremely patient with us and with the government because we’ve been saying to them, ‘okay, they started some talks… No, we didn’t hear anything from them. Okay, we’re going to write them’. ‘Did you write them yet? How long more you want us to wait? We can’t wait any longer’. And that’s the reason why we are out there,” McDonald said.
The scene in front of the MoE Brickdam office yesterday radiated energy as teachers blew whistles, rang bells, beat drums, and chanted. One of the main chants that could clearly be heard from the large crowd was “Ramens ain’t yummy, pay we we money”. Not only were there teachers from the Georgetown contingent assembled at the Brickdam office but some from the East Coast and East Bank joined in.
Survive
One of them, Taryn Bollers, who is attached to Peters Hall Primary School told this newspaper that she has had to work on Saturdays and Sundays in order to survive.
“I can’t get a job working Monday to Friday and then I still gah work an extra job on Saturday and Sunday just to make ends meet,” the teacher stated.
Referencing the gross salaries list that has been circulated on social media by the MoE, another teacher, Natasha Taylor noted that the ministry ought to have also posted the net salaries, after tax.
“When our salaries have been taxed we have a small amount remaining. And then comes cost of living. We have our mortgage to pay, we also have groceries, we also have children we are sending to school, we have to pay transportation, [and] we have our bills to pay,” she lamented, whilst adding that at times teachers are forced to beg relatives overseas to assist.
I have my [teaching] job and two other jobs I usually do, so that would assist me. But my other colleagues that are tired from UG and all of those classes that they have, they are not able to do a second or third job. So, I’m out here to support my colleagues because we all are feeling it,” Taylor said.
Parliamentarian Nima Flue-Bess, who is also a teacher attached to the St. Joseph High School, was also out on the front lines and she had this to say:
“Teachers have rights and our rights must be respected. If our rights were respected, we would not have been out here. We are calling for our rights to be respected. We’ve seen yesterday how the ministry went on a whole bullyism tactic… we are not calling for something that we don’t deserve… we deserve to enjoy higher wages. When they were not in government, they said 50% increase. How come it turn 6.5% increase? That should not be”.
Some of the parents who were present also voiced their concerns. According to Randolph Pereira who is the father of a high school student, the teaching profession is what makes other jobs possible and as such they should be paid accordingly.
“Teachers are the best and they should not be treated this way, because there’re so many things they’re doing. And I think the government should use their discretion, they all have a conscience and they should come out and say something to these teachers… at least give them something better than what they offer on the table. 6.5% of the present salary of a teacher is nothing, nothing much… All this government is doing [is] focusing more on infrastructure,” he stated.
Pereira also posited, “How many of our teachers are driving or riding a motorcycle? Teachers are parents, they have responsibilities, [and] they have to send children to school, just like us. They have utility bills, and I think they’re deserve more”.
Denise Maury, another parent standing in solidarity with teachers stated that teachers are vitally important to our society.
“If a minister cannot do a job that is in collaboration with teachers, then that’s not the type of minister that the country needs. We need people that will work with our teachers and meet them at least halfway with their demands,” she emphasized.
Meanwhile, Doreen Anderson, who is a guardian, advocated for the government to provide teachers with better wages.
Not only was the energy up in Georgetown but in Regions Five and Seven as well. Chants such as “We cyaan survive pon 6.5”, “We ain’t frighten, we strikin’”, “One, two, three, pay we mo money”, “The school grant is nah we own” “Tell me how I gon survive with 6.5” were heard on the live videos posted on Facebook (FB) yesterday.
A GTU representative and teacher from Region Seven was heard, during his address outside of the region’s education department, saying, “All we’re asking is for is that our employer to respect our rights, let’s negotiate and let’s go back to the classroom. That’s all we’re asking for”.
This newspaper passed by schools on the East Coast of Demerara yesterday to observe the turnout. Some schools, like Graham’s Hall Primary and Mon Repos Primary and Nursery Schools were closed, whilst St. Paul’s Primary in Plaisance saw a low turnout of teachers and a few children. 17 teachers were reported absent from Annandale Secondary while 33 were present, with a student turnout of 22%. At Beterverwagting Secondary, teachers were present but students’ turnout was again poor.
In Georgetown, schools along Woolford Avenue were open but only a handful of teachers and students were present. Stabroek News understands that since the strike commenced on Monday, head teachers or deputy head teachers have had to take stock of their teachers’ attendance and pass the information on to ministry officials who visited the schools daily.
Some schools were even asked to provide photos. One head teacher pointed out that they (the staff) were only in school because they did not want to be penalized for locking up during scheduled school hours.
This is the most serious strike that the government has faced since it took office in August 2020 and will be seen as a personal blow to President Irfaan Ali who has engaged directly with teachers in what was seen as an attempt to undercut the GTU.
The industrial action is expected to continue for 10 more days, and the union is hoping that the Ministry will, within this period, arrange for a meeting to have discussions on the issues at hand.
