By Mia Anthony
As the teachers’ strike entered its twelfth day yesterday, strike relief reforms were being distributed as the GTU and its supporters dug in their heels as they demanded collective bargaining with the government.
Outside the entrance of the 2024 Energy Conference, educators continued to gather and hold aloft their placards while chanting loudly so that their demands for livable wages could be heard not only by the locals, but their target audience… the delegates and potential investors.
And despite the prolonged standoff, the determination among the strikers shows no sign of abating. Stabroek News spoke to the President of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU), Mark Lyte, who expressed the view that any negotiation must prioritize the welfare and livelihoods of educators over all else. When the strike began, the Ministry of Labour deemed the industrial action ‘illegal’ and said that teachers would face repercussion such as the cutting of the salary of teachers for the days off their jobs. Lyte, in response, told the Stabroek News, “We are addressing it, just yesterday we distributed our strike relief forms to teachers who have been standing with us for the last twelve days. Teachers are not giving up… they feel that this is a just cause and they are prepared to make the sacrifice.”