The General Council of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) has proposed three options that can be executed in the face of the government’s seeming reluctance to proceed with talks: resumption of strike action, arbitration and a move to the court.
GTU President Mark Lyte said the three options were outlined at a General Council Meeting last Tuesday, in response to the government’s failure to communicate with the union for 26 days on salary matters. It was unanimously agreed that once resumed, the strike would not end until negotiations are completed. The strike will resume at a date to be announced by executives of the GTU.
It was noted that the first strike, which began in February and went on for 29 days running into March, ended when the court ordered the union and government to return to the bargaining table. That process should have continued, ending in an agreement on salaries and other matters.
However, Lyte said that the Ministry of Education reneged on its former commitment to address the multi-year agreement for 2019-2023 that was submitted. The government had attempted to negate the union, and speak to employees directly, which is a breach of the rights of workers, Lyte added. After 26 days, the GTU believes that the talks have collapsed.
Under the second option, the GTU would ideally press the government for a mutually agreed arbitration process. If the government is prepared to move to arbitration to decide on a salary package for educators, the union will take this course of action.
The third option outlined by the General Council is for the union to engage the courts against the Ministry of Labour for failing to carry out its mandate to settle disputes between the employees of the state and trade unions.
“So, we have three options before us and obviously this union will pursue all of the options as stated by the General Council. The decisions of the General Council are always binding. It is the second highest decision-making body of the GTU outside of the tri-annual conference,” Lyte said. He then proceeded to put the government on notice that a full-fledged strike was looming “at a date to be announced to the membership”.
The matter currently before the court does not pertain to salary increases but rather whether the government could cut the salaries of teachers engaged in the 29-day strike action and whether the government had the right not to remit dues from a legal union.
So far, GTU Second Vice President Julian Cambridge, was cross-examined by the Attorney General’s Office while Chief Education Officer Saddam Hussain who represented the government, was cross-examined by Darren Wade and Senior Counsel Roysdale Forde, representing the GTU. Forde and Wade extended their services to represent the union without financial demands.
The GTU will return to court on Wednesday where there will be oral arguments from both sides followed by a decision from the judge. Lyte noted that the judge had requested that the status quo remain the same. However, he said, no dues were remitted in all regions for March and February. “We expect that this matter will be raised by our lawyers at the next court hearing. I think we’ve already notified the judge on this matter that there is contempt by whomever made a decision not for dues to be remitted,” Lyte added.
While teachers will return to school today, Lyte added that with the strike announcement imminent, how long they will remain there was uncertain. He took the opportunity to thank teachers for their resilience during the last strike.
Promotions
Meanwhile, Lyte has expressed concerns that some recent promotions and appointments did not follow proper criteria, nor were the positions advertised.
During the months of March and April advertisements for senior positions vacant along with the criteria, are usually published, he said.
The Teaching Service Commission (TSC), Ministry of Education and School Board Secretariat (SBS) work on the criteria and vacant positions. The GTU works closely with the ministry, TSC, and SBS to ensure that the criteria are met and that there is fairness, equity, and just application, he added.
Lyte said the stand-off between the ministry and the union should not affect the process, but the GTU was yet to be officially notified of the plans for promotion. The union has a part to play to ensure that those who are promoted are eligible and positions are given to the right persons based on the criteria. The union also plays a role in overlooking the interview process, he said.
“We have intercepted a few correspondences sent from the CEO’s office to the School Board Secretariat and the teachers’ union. We’ve also intercepted responses from the Teaching Service Commission with a schedule that appears to be unrealistic to achieve, having not started the process … but the union is paying close attention,” he stated.
Lyte added that several individuals were previously promoted without fitting the requirements and urged that fairness and justice prevail.
“This Guyana Teachers’ Union will not sit back and allow any promotion to take place without our full involvement. We have to be part of the process. We will not allow promotion of friends and family,” Lyte said.
