Teachers in Region Two continued to strike for the 16th day yesterday and have declared that they are not giving up.
Both protestors and supporters flocked to the Anna Regina High Bridge where they assembled under tents as they continued to call for collective bargaining between the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) and the Ministry of Education.
Some of the placards read, “Day 16 in the sun the oppressors think we will burn, when we pray against Maduro god answered, now we pray against injustice god will answer our prayers”; “that oil story is a bother to be taxed??? Exxon Mobil is going scotch free”; “collective bargaining is our demand, 6.5% can’t work.”
Meanwhile, Headteacher of CV Nunes Primary, Cheryl Peters-Moore, stated that the teachers discount card issued by the Ministry of Education is “invalid” and that businessmen are refusing to honour them. She claimed that on many occasions, teachers faced embarrassment when attempting to use the card as the businessmen stated that it no longer qualifies. Moore opined that the money spent on the cards could have been used to invest in teachers in some other way.
“The money that was used to print those cards for so many teachers could have been invested into teachers. We would have been happy with it than just having a card in our wallet that is useless. This is gross disrespect. Why the Ministry is not engaging the businessmen and continuing the payments for the discount?”
During the strike action on Tuesday, teachers displayed their cards, saying they were useless. They also composed a song questioning where the Minister of Education is and why the card isn’t active. The teachers said they continue to suffer and they are all standing up for their rights.
Many of the teachers said that they will continue to stand with the GTU until the talks are held with the Ministry of Education. They said that they feel disrespected and vowed not to give up.
