Dear Editor,
The teacher’s strike has entered its 13th day, and until now one is at a loss to determine the stage at which the negotiations between the GTU and the Government was immediately before the strike was called by the union. Playing the political blame game will not resolve the current stalemate between the parties. At the end of the day, there must be terms of resumption and the issues that led to the strike will have to go back to the bargaining table for direct negotiations, the Ministry of Labour at Conciliation or before an Arbitration Tribunal. These mediums of resolution can be easily determined by the Collective Labour Agreement, i.e., the Recognition Agreement between the GTU and the Government.
The optics of the current industrial conflict are sending mixed messages. Neither the Government nor the GTU has clearly stated, at least for public consumption and understanding if there were on-going negotiations prior to the strike call. If there were on-going negotiations, what are the specific issues that triggered the strike? At what stage of the grievance procedure the parties were when the strike was called? Did the union utilize the service of the Ministry of Labour at conciliation? These questions will help us to understand whether the union or the Government is in the wrong.
Be that as it may, the onus is on the Ministry of Labour to intervene with a view to getting the parties back to the bargaining table. The teaching profession, everyone would agree is important and essential to nation building, both students and parents are made to suffer the most under these strenuous and stressful circumstances. Assuming, not accepting, that the strike call by the GTU breaches the existing CLA between the parties and by extension the strike is deemed illegal, it does not preclude the Hon Minister of Labour intervening and opening discussion with the parties. The GTU would not have been the first union to violate the grievance procedure and in the context of pursuing disputes at negotiations, it will not be the last union. Similarly, the GTU is not the only union in the country to have leader (s) aligned to a particular party, let us raise our heads and look around.
As an experienced trade unionist who has been along this path of industrial conflict many a times at GuySuCo and more so, at GPL, where the strike was often deemed illegal and political in origin, the Ministry will always take the lead in getting the parties back to the bargaining table. The critical issue is not how much teachers have been paid in the past since the Government took office. The parties are supposed to be at negotiations over a new Collective Labour Agreement of which wages/salaries are the most controversial issues, as always. There is the expectation among the membership of the teacher’s union that the outcome of the negotiations shall result in reasonable remuneration. A resolution is more likely to be achieved through the direct negotiations process or through a third-party involvement. In this case, it is my humble opinion that the Ministry of Labour is abdicating its conciliatory role as a mediator. Rather, it is sitting on the sideline and has joined the proverbial band wagon by labelling the strike illegal, while the nation suffers. I have been following the strike since it started, and I am not aware that the Ministry of Labour has made any attempt to intervene through its conciliatory role. There is much more to gain by intervention, than by staying aloof. The government will be on solid ground should the union refuse the services of the Ministry of Labour.
Sincerely
Kaisree Takechandra
