Teachers have done well in difficult times – says Prime Minister

Oct 30, 2017 News

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– As GTU prepares to meet President Granger to resolve salary increase, other concerns

Teachers are a rare breed of humanitarians. This is according to Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo, who recently pointed out that these professionals are known to invest themselves in their charges. The Prime Minister can attest to this state of affairs since he himself was once a teacher.
“When you see the student, you see a student plus the teacher,” asserted Nagamootoo.

His remarks in this regards were forthcoming on Friday as he delivered remarks at the Ministry of Education’s 2017 National Award Ceremony.
Nagamootoo made a point of emphasising that “Everything that teachers know and learn will be vested in the development of the child or student under their care and they have done so for many years for small wages…for little incentives.”
He highlighted that teachers have over the years been sent to far flung areas, away from their homes, to carry out their mandate. Teachers, according to the Prime Minister, are sometimes sent to hinterland communities where challenges are greater than on the coast. “It may be easier now because internet can be accessed in these interior areas but not so all the time,” insisted Nagamootoo.
As such he emphasised that, “the work of a teacher is a work of love, because you are dealing with your students and you understand they all deserve attention and the best care and the impartation to them of the best knowledge.”
Given the task that teachers are expected to carry out with distinction, Nagamootoo concluded, “They are the ones who I believe deserve our commendation of a thank you from the bottom of our hearts. They have done well in these difficult times.”
It is just such consideration that executives of the Guyana Teachers Union [GTU] are hoping will guide a resolution to the remuneration and other concerns teachers are presently facing. For almost two years, teachers have been awaiting the conclusion of negotiations between the Ministry of Education and GTU regarding a remuneration package for teachers.
A previous multi-year remuneration agreement which was inked under the PPP/C administration expired in December of 2015. That very month, union representatives said that a proposal for a new agreement was presented to the Ministry of Education. However, negotiations in this regard were stalled on multiple occasions. According to GTU President, Mark Lyte, while the Ministry has thus far been able to sign off on the non-financial aspects of the proposal, the financial aspect has thus far not been discussed.
In its proposal, the union has asked for, among other things, a 40 percent across the board increase for teachers for last year; 45 percent increase for this year and 50 percent for the following three years (2018-2020) for all categories of teachers.
The union in its proposal, too, took into consideration, inflation and had made it clear that “should there be inflation higher than the percentage be agreed upon, then the teachers/teacher-educators must get the benefit of the difference.”

But Lyte had confided that since the union was only making a proposal, the Ministry was well within its right to offer completely different percentages.
The non-progressive negotiations had caused the union to announce plans to agitate its 6,000 odd membership into strike action, essentially crippling the operation of the public school system. In an attempt to appease the union, a meeting was convened on Thursday by Minister of Education, Nicolette Henry, whose approach did not meet the satisfaction of union executives. This prompted them to stage a coordinated ‘walk-out’ during which they affirmed the strike action plan.
During the meeting with the Education Minister, the union executives said that they were particularly concerned that from all indication teachers are being lumped into a single ‘public servant’ category. Coming out from the meeting with the Minister, Lyte had informed that the Minister merely advised that teachers will benefit from the recently announced pay increase for other public servants. “This seems to be another imposition and the union will not accept this,” he warned.
Recently, government announced a unilateral pay increase for public servants which has been evoking wrath from many concerned factions.
The GTU’s decision to bring an unceremonious end to the meeting with the Education Ministry was widely publicised and triggered a meeting between the union and Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, on Friday. At that forum, union executives were informed that President David Granger was prepared to meet with them today at 11:00 hours at the Ministry of the Presidency.
While the union has agreed to the meeting, Lyte informed that the union’s membership will be advised of the way forward depending on the outcome of the meeting. “We have been through two years of talk, all we want to see now is concrete action,” Lyte passionately asserted.

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