Teachers take to the streets, begging for higher pay

May 31, 2023 News

Teachers and representatives of the Guyana Teacher’s Union protesting on Tuesday in front of the Ministry of Finance.

Kaieteur News – Several teachers joined the representatives of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) on Tuesday to protest for higher salaries. The protest commenced around 10:00hrs in front the Ministry Finance’s Office on Main Street, Georgetown.
Some held placards saying, “Everything else has increased except teachers’ wages and salaries” and “we need our salaries to be adjusted”.

The protest centered around the previous government’s failure to honour certain commitments of “debunching monies” and an overdue payment of a difference of two percent in a 2016 and 2018 agreement.

Protestors also called out the current government for its alleged reluctance to resolve the issues and failing to examine the new proposal submitted by GTU, multiple times since 2020.
However, most teachers were extremely concerned about receiving higher salaries. Teachers who protested on Tuesday said that trainee teachers who are still in college receive $83,000 monthly salary while qualified teachers’ salaries start at $100,000 monthly. Most teachers have to work extra jobs which include at nights and weekends to get additional income to maintain their families.
President of the GTU, Mark Lyte raised this issue during the protest.

“Our salary is extremely low. For example, on average a Head Teacher takes home just over a US$1000 per month for managing a school of 500 to 700 students.” Lyte said that other Head Teachers in the Caribbean are paid approximately US$16,000 per month.

“We are grossly underpaid and we would like to the see the oil money be spent on our teachers,” Lyte while adding that “Several teachers are doing other odd jobs to make it”. He disclosed that he knows a teacher who works as a bouncer at nightclubs.

“I think teachers are in dire need of their increases. They are in dire need of their finances, cost of living is very high and teachers have certain financial commitments,” he said in support of calls for increased wages and salaries.

Meanwhile, GTU’s General Secretary, Coretta McDonald expressed her dissatisfaction at the government’s failure to have a proper discussion on a proposal the Union submitted since 2020.
“We submitted that proposal three times for the year in 2020, twice in 2021, again in 2022 and also again in 2023 and for the last three years, we have heard nothing from this government.”
McDonald acknowledged that the Union did have a meeting with government ministers in April and May but said that she was disappointed that the submitted proposal was not taken seriously and an offer put to teachers.

Meanwhile, shortly after the protest ended, the Ministry of Education issued a press statement accusing the GTU of “opportunistically and disingenuously mounting a protest about matters that are currently under examination”.

The Ministry made sure that it pointed that all of the issues GTU is protesting about was inherited from the Coalition Administration and claimed that it is presently working to resolve all of them.
“All of them [issues] are being addressed by this Government in the best way possible and the Union is aware of this,” the Ministry stated.

The Education Ministry noted that it is of the view that the protest was just “a grandstanding by Coretta McDonald [GTU’s General Secretary]…”
Notwithstanding, the Ministry sought to assure the nation’s teachers, “…that while the government prefers to work with the Union, if that becomes impossible, the interest of teachers will still be paramount and prioritized in the government’s considerations and that will ensure benefits for each and every teacher”.

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debunching monies, GTU, higher salaries, Ministry Finance's Office, protest, teachers begging

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