Ministry debates paying PC teachers involved in sit-in

Jun 12, 2009 News

– Minister Baksh

Minister of Education, Shaik Baksh

Minister of Education Shaik Baksh, on Wednesday last, described the industrial action engaged by staffers of President’s College as precipitous. He said that the Ministry was not previously aware of some of the concerns upon which the action was based.
The industrial action, which according to reports was instigated by the school’s teachers’ association, took the form of a sit-in that commenced on Tuesday.
Baksh was critical of the Tuesday June 9, 2009 Kaieteur News report of the industrial action. He pointed to the subhead of the article, “Prominent secondary institution going to the dogs”. The minister contended that this was very irresponsible reporting.
The Minister said that contrary to the newspaper’s report, President’s College is not the only residential secondary school. He listed those at Bartica, Waramadong and St Ignatius as having dormitories and being residential.

Baksh said that the Ministry was not prepared for the industrial action. Ministry officials are now considering whether the teachers involved will be paid for the days they participated in the sit-in, he said.
The Minister’s disclosure came during a press conference held in his office.
He told media operatives that the Ministry was in receipt of a letter from the Teachers’ Association, which highlighted some grievances that prompted the sit-in.
Chief among these, the Minister said, was the fact that teachers at the premier institution had not received an additional five per cent back pay for last year.
According to Baksh, the teachers had received an initial five per cent based on negotiations by the Guyana Teachers’ Union for last year. In December, a decision was made to also pay an additional five per cent, retroactive to May.

But according to the Minister, “This additional five per cent is under active consideration by the Ministries of Education and Finance and there has been some delay in arriving at a decision because of the various benefits being enjoyed by teachers at President’s College.”
All of the teachers are eligible for a duty allowance amounting to about $6,000 per month and are in receipt of a housing allowance of about $2,000 per month, he said.
Some of the senior staff members, he said, have been receiving a 25 per cent allowance on their salary and various honoraria, which are paid to some members of staff, both on the teaching and management side.
“We wanted to look very closely at what is taking place and who should benefit from the additional five per cent in light of these varying allowances that are being paid.”
And according to the Minister, this was in fact made known to the teachers association, through the Chairman of the Board.

Another stated reason for the industrial action was delayed senior appointments, which according to the Minister is not an issue, since the posts have already been filled. They were advertised this year and recommendations were made in April. The Minister acknowledged, though, that the institution suffers from an insufficient water supply thus provisions have been made in the 2009 budget to provide more water tanks in time for the commencement of the next school year.
The Ministry will be working with the Guyana Water Incorporated to put in place a long-term resolution to the problem, Baksh said.

And while some of the concerns have been duly noted by the Ministry, the Minister said, that he was disturbed when he learnt that the refurbishing of the Science and Home Economic Laboratories, staff rooms and classrooms were basis for the action too.
“This has come as a surprise, because this was never raised as an issue from the beginning of the school year. I have spoken to the principal and I have spoken to the Chairman of the Board and nothing in the minutes reflect that this matter was raised at the Board level. I have checked the minutes of the Board meetings myself and there is a representative of the board, and a representative of the GTU, in the person of the President, and this matter had not reached a higher level to draw our attention.”
According to the Minister, there is a procedure to be followed for things to be corrected, even as he emphasised that things could have been corrected had the Ministry been aware.