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GTU to fight Govt. in court over salary deductions
– says strike will extend beyond two weeks
Kaieteur News – President of the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU), Mark Lyte has said that union is prepared to extend the industrial action beyond the two week time frame until their concerns are addressed.
GTU President, Mark Lyte
Speaking to reporters on the impact of strike on Monday, Lyte said the union is prepared to extend the industrial action until their demands are met. He said too that the GTU is looking into its legal options to defend teachers against some of the measures taken against them by the Ministry of Education. Lyte reminded that industrial action can take various forms, if the ministry and by extension the government fails to address the concerns of teachers. “Even if teachers return to the classroom, we can actually do a lot of things to show our dissatisfaction with the manner in which we have been treated.”
Teachers on Monday continued their protest outside the Ministry of Education at Brickdam, Georgetown as well as the various Regional Education offices across the regions. On the sixth day of the strike and protest, Lyte noted that teachers are active on the streets; minimal teaching was ongoing in schools across the country. Lyte noted that the whole country is at a standstill.
Teachers on the protest line in various parts of the country
Teachers continue their protest in Mabaruma in Region One
He said, “We are seeing schools are not operating as they should, you drive down the road and you are not even seeing children and the entire country is affected and if the government does care about the future of our generation they will address the concerns of our teachers.”
In response to the statement by the Ministry of Education informing striking teachers that their salaries will be deducted for unauthorised absence from the classroom, Lyte said the union plans to challenge the government’s decision to make deductions. The GTU head also rubbished claims that the strike action is illegal. “The law requires that unions are engaged in collective bargaining and right there, there is a breach of the constitution by the government,” he said.
“We are assured that strike was in keeping with all the protocols after the attempts to hold engagements between the Ministry of Education and the GTU were exhausted.”
“In fact, the Ministry of Labour through its Chief Labour Officer and Minister acted in an unprofessional manner by taking the side of the Ministry of Education rather that a neutral party, a mediator to resolve the issues between the two parties,” he said.
As it relates to accusations by the government that the GTU lacks accountability of its finances, Lyte noted that this is an old strategy by the government to muzzle the union. The GTU President nonetheless stated that all its financial records are audited by a private auditing firm and the reports are tabled at council meetings and conferences of the Union.
“So, this will not work to not break us. We will continue to press forward until Government addresses our demands.” Since 2020, the GTU has been pushing for an across-the-board increase in salaries for teachers as part of a multi-year agreement. The proposal covers the years 2020 to 2023.
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