Over 6000 teachers on strike, several schools closed – GTU

Feb 08, 2024 News

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Kaieteur News – Calls rang out on Wednesday for teachers to be paid better salaries as the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) strike action expanded on day three of efforts to achieve collecting bargaining.

 

Several civil society activists and prominent Guyanese joined GTU’s nationwide protest exercise.  The strike which commenced on Monday has resulted in over 6500 teachers up to yesterday taking industrial action and hundreds taking to the streets in protest, causing the closure of several schools in eleven districts across.

Kaieteur News Publisher, Glenn Lall joined those assembled outside the office of Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand on Brickdam on Wednesday where hundreds of teachers held their placards, chanting and calling for better salaries. Lall told the media: “When you look at what is going on in Guyana, it reminds me of what the Israelis doing to the Palestinians in Gaza, they are arresting the men, women, and children taking them and throwing them into large prison camps and blindfolding them.  This is what’s happening in Guyana even worse; the leaders are allowing the foreigners to blindfold the country while they are eating away at the resources of this land.”

“This is at the crux of the issue that these teachers are facing here, no one, no Guyanese should ever have to come out into the streets to talk about wages; not the police, not the soldiers; not the nurses; no public servants. We should have been collecting enough cash to triple these people salaries if they could only stop the blindfolding of the people and the stealing of the resources,” Lall pointed out.

Retired Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Rear Admiral, Gary Best who also stood in protest line on Wednesday condemned the government’s decision to exclude higher wages for public servants in the national budget. “These are the persons responsible for educating our children. Teachers are a critical part of our society so I stand in support of them because they are one of the pillars on which society will develop. More than that, the budget for 2024 is highly disrespectful; it is a failure to the teachers and the public servants in general.”

“When you going to spend 60 percent of the budget on infrastructure and deny a real increase for teachers and other public servants, it tells you the government is inhumane and unfair. The Government is more concerned with managing poverty as opposed to reducing poverty and reducing inequalities!”

Kadesha Headley, the General Council Representative for South Georgetown related that the GTU continues to be unfazed by the ministry’s efforts to undermine the strike. “This has nothing to do with politics. These are real social issues that affect teachers like debunching. The Ministry of Education put out a salary scale but that does not affect more than 60 percent of teachers. Many qualified teachers are not benefitting from a senior teacher’s salary,” she said.

Parents who came out in support of the teachers’ strike shared similar sentiments. “We are here because we believe our teachers deserve better. They work hard daily to make the lives of our children better so anything that affects them; affects us too. We would urge every sector of society to support them and stand in solidarity with them,” Randolph Perreira who stood outside the Ministry with the protestors said.

Meanwhile, General Secretary of the GTU, Ms. Coretta McDonald said that the Union is pleased with the support that the Union has received thus far in the struggle to achieve its goal. “Some of the teachers are fearful given the threats of the government but more and more teachers have been coming out. Today, we had a bigger crowd than yesterday, I believe the statements and letters by the Ministry of Education have angered them by deciding to stop paying the union dues,” McDonald asserted.

She continued: “I think our teachers are intelligent enough to know what is right from wrong. They can look at their salaries over the past five years and compare it with the inflation and they will be able to know if they continue on this trajectory for the next five years with the pittance of an increase that they are giving public servants, if they would be able to continue to live like this.”

She noted that Guyanese teachers are being paid less than their counterparts in the Region. “Simply take a look at the salary scale of teachers in other Caribbean territories and compare them with what Guyanese teachers are being paid in an oil-producing country and then you will understand our frustration.”

The GTU General Secretary is adamant that with consistent and growing support from its members and other sections of society, the government will be left with no other choice than to yield to their demands.

 

 

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• Gary Best, Glenn Lall, Guyana Defence Force, Kaieteur News Publisher, New Amsterdam teachers, Rear Admiral, Teachers in Corentyne, Teachers in Mabaruma

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