Teachers set for major strike action on Monday, February 5th

Jan 31, 2024 News

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“Many teachers go to work in some questionable working conditions and for pay that is also below par, I can give you some examples at the Peter’s Hall Primary School, teachers would have to leave the school compound and visit the mall to use the bathroom because the school toilets are out of order. Another teacher fell through the floors at her school… yet the government is refusing to pay teachers livable wages”

Kaieteur News – General Secretary of the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) Coretta McDonald has said that teachers across the country are on board with the industrial action slated to commence on February 5, 2024.

McDonald told Kaieteur News on Tuesday that the GTU has been in consultations with its members across the country and they are in support of the strike. She explained: “Our members from all across the country have expressed their support for the strike action. Of Course, there are some teachers on the Essequibo Coast and some districts that are government-aligned who have expressed their support but noted their reservations owing to threats on their lives and families. But we want to make this clear that this is an action geared towards achieving better wages and working conditions for teachers.”

McDonald noted that the GTU has gone through pains in adopting every possible posture to get the Government via the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Education to address the plight of teachers. According to McDonald, the GTU has written several letters seeking conciliation or arbitration. “The GTU has been seeking to engage the parties through the necessary correspondence from 2019—2023. We went an entire year in 2023 without any proper indication from the Government only for them to announce a 6.5 percent across-the-board increase; a slap in the face for teachers and all public servants.”

The GTU official lamented the fact that many teachers make big sacrifices to ensure that the nation’s children are educated. “Many teachers go to work in some questionable working conditions and for pay that is also below par, I can give you some examples at the Peter’s Hall Primary School teachers would have to leave the school compound and visit the mall to use the bathroom because the school toilets are out of order. Another teacher fell through the floors at her school… yet the government is refusing to pay teachers livable wages.”

As such, she called on parents and other members of civil society to show their support for teachers. “We would encourage parents and other civil society members to show their support for these teachers because these efforts are for the greater good of all,” McDonald added.

In response to claims by Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton that the strike action is illegal; McDonald said nothing can be further from the truth. “It is very dishonest but we don’t expect anything better from him, we have followed the guidelines and attempted to engage the Government on many occasions…industrial action is our last resort. We are doing this in keeping with the guidelines for industrial action,” she said.

Additionally, she added: “we have not forced or intimidated anyone. Teachers are just fed-up with their concerns being ignored.”

In a national address on Monday, Hamilton said the ministry wrote to GTU informing them that their strike, which is expected to take place from February 5 to 16, goes against the law and previous agreements between the union and government.

“Any strike that is called by the Guyana Teachers Union will be deemed illegal and illegitimate by the Ministry of Labour. The General Secretary, Coretta McDonald, and the executive of GTU are fully aware based on the correspondence between the Union and the Chief Labour Officer that they were attempting to have him override procedures and the stages that are necessary for good labour relations,” Hamilton said.

The minister called on teachers not to be intimidated into striking by the GTU. “Do not allow the Guyana Teachers Union and its executives to threaten you or intimidate you. They cannot and they are in no position to cause you to lose your job [or] to cause you not to be promoted,” he stated.

Hamilton said he will do all in his power to ensure teachers’ rights are protected. Teachers, who plan on participating in the strike, were warned that the Ministry of Education and Teaching Service Commission has the law on their side should they choose to reprimand them. Hamilton claimed that the GTU must follow proper protocols “if they believe they have a grievance”.

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• better pay., GTU, strike, support, teachers

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