As the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) strike entered its fifth day yesterday, educators from all across Region Two joined in solidarity with their union and several spoke about having to take second jobs to make ends meet.
The region, which has 38 primaries, 34 nurseries and 8 secondary schools, has a teachers’ population of 1,379 teachers. According to GTU Regional Vice Chairman, Rabbinauth Boodram, over 71% of the region’s teachers have joined the strike. The teachers were accommodated in rented tents on a private property since they were told that they can no longer use the Department of Education shed during their industrial action.
Boodram said that several schools, especially in the Lake and Pomeroon communities, were closed due to the strike. Many of the head teachers from leading schools in the region also joined the strike. Teachers explained that that due to the rising cost of living in Guyana, they are forced to seek jobs outside of the teaching profession. Many of them are operating businesses such as florist, décor, poultry and grocery, domestic and even waitressing. A single mother, Denise Savory, said she had to seek a waitress job outside of the teaching profession to offset her expenses. She said that many times after paying rent she is left without anything for her children. Although she is getting help, she explained it’s still insufficient for her survival. “This really can’t work for me, it’s hard for me to survive. My children are in school and my salary is below 100,000 Guyana dollars, the rent alone is half… it’s hard”, Savory said.
Another teacher, Rajkumar Ragoobar, also had to venture into a grocery business which he operates on weekends and evening hours. He has been in the profession for over 15 years and said that the salary cannot take care of his family. Ragoobar said that the teachers are standing up for their peers across the entire nation. “It’s about bread and butter”.
Another teacher said he started a poultry business with the help of family members since he said he does not have enough collateral to access a loan. He said he had to do that because he has two children going to school and both he and his wife are teachers and the salary really cannot protect them from the rising cost of living. “This has nothing to do with politics, its bread and butter… we want a livable salary where we can survive, it’s a dignified job but we wish for a better salary so we can survive,” the teacher explained.
Other teachers who joined the industrial action said that they are standing up for all public servants who are receiving meagre salaries. They said that the salary cannot protect them from the rising cost of living in the shops. They noted that prices for groceries and other household items have risen and teachers’ salaries are not being reviewed. Many of them said they do not want to leave the profession because of their love for children. “We really want to get back into the classrooms, we want to continue to teach the children. This can only happen if we are happy and we are comfortable with our salaries. We want to feel comfortable about our salaries” the teachers explained. The teachers said that they will continue their industrial action until the Ministry of Education hold talks with the GTU.
