-union seeking 20% across-the-board before talks on timeframe for negotiations
By Abigail Headley
With a third session set for Monday, the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) yesterday traded accusations over two conciliation meetings this week aimed at resolving the ongoing strike by educators for collective bargaining.
The union has accused the ministry of showing no interest in considering its proposals, while the ministry has condemned the union’s actions as a breach of agreement and a display of bad faith.
Early yesterday morning, the GTU issued a press release on its Facebook (FB) page where it noted that it had presented a detailed proposal outlining the conditions for resuming duties and commencing conciliation for determining the period for which negotiations are to be taken. The proposal included demands such as an interim 20% across-the-board payment, recusal of the Minister of Labour from the negotiation process, and establishment of an arbitration tribunal if negotiations fail.