Though the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) and the Ministry of Education (MOE) again failed to reach an agreement on ending a prolonged strike at yesterday’s meeting under the auspices of the Ministry of Labour, the union has put forth a proposal for a new multi-year agreement, to be completed within 30 days.
The meeting ended with the ministry promising to consider the proposal and their decision would determine whether or not talks will resume at another date.
The multi-year proposal would now span the years 2022 to 2025, a timeframe the union had previously hinted at for a compromise. Previously the union had called for negotiations to cover 2019 to 2024. It has now removed 2019, 2020 and 2021 from the equation. There was no word from the government yesterday on this proposal. The government has stuck to the position that talks will only be held from 2024.
Speaking yesterday following the conclusion of the meeting, GTU President Mark Lyte expressed his concern that the ministry is not demonstrating a willingness to negotiate and find common ground.
Outside the Ministry of Labour yesterday afternoon, Lyte told members of the media that the meeting focused on the terms of resumption, including a 30-day timeframe for the completion of negotiations on the proposed multi-year financial package for teachers. However, he charged that the ministry has continued to show unwillingness to compromise on an interim payment to teachers pending the conclusion of negotiations. Lyte argued that the union has been flexible towards negotiations, but the ministry has not reciprocated.
GTU General Secretary Coretta McDonald also expressed frustration with the ministry’s stance, saying that they are not willing to negotiate and are instead trying to bully their way through the process. McDonald emphasized that the union is concerned about the state of education in Guyana and wants to see teachers return to schools with something substantial.
“We are concerned that our learners are at home and our teachers are at home… not being fully engaged. And at this time, when it’s the last term for the academic year, which is the term for promotions, nothing is really happening. And as you would know, we started this since February 6. And if you count all those times that schools have been out, our children have been out, as a matter of fact, if you drive the streets of Georgetown and elsewhere, you will see our learners who are supposed to be at school, they are engaged at wash bays and several other places. That again, is another aspect that we’ll have to look at because that’s child labour. And to bring them out of that mode, and to reorient them into school is another whole process,” McDonald said.
The General Secretary also lamented the unfairness of the ministry’s demands for teachers to return to work empty-handed as was the case the last time the strike was paused.
“We have offered several options and all of those options were rejected by the Ministry of Education. Which is saying to us that the Ministry of Education and the government, they are quite comfortable with the state of affairs. We have talked around several issues that we have actually agreed on but the sticking point of it is the teachers returning to schools, returning to schools with empty hands… The Ministry of Education indicated to us that they wanted to talk. We brought a halt to the strike that started in February 6 and we went to the tables. After agreeing on positions at that table, having signed minutes for that meeting, returning four days later, the Ministry of Education recanted their position. That there broke the camel’s back. The trust was eroded. And we’re saying for us to return to the tables now, with calling the strike off, there must be something substantial being given to our teachers. And that’s where the standoff is; the ministry [is] not prepared to budge at any point. We’ve said to them, a lump sum payment, we’ve said to them a 20% interim payment. We said to them we’re willing to delete from our proposal two years 2019 2020 from 2021 to 2023. They have rejected that we’ve said to them, okay, 2022 2023, you come with your 2024 2025 they’ve rejected that. And so, the government here is again attempting to bully its way through this process. And so, all they’re looking for is a 2024 and onwards. Their position is unless we return to schools, they’re not willing to talk,” she said.
The meeting, facilitated by the Ministry of Labour, aimed to, once again, attempt to resolve the ongoing teachers’ strike. The strike was temporarily halted after a court ruling in favour of mediation talks which ended in a stalemate.
The strike in total has gone on for over two months and will continue, pending the decisions of the two parties. As it continues, the union will be hosting its weekly prayer service today, at three intervals, and members will meet online to show solidarity.
The matter has since been taken to the Court of Appeal, with the government seeking to overturn Chief Justice Sandil Kissoon’s ruling in favour of the teachers.
