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GTU files court action to challenge Govt. decision to deduct striking teachers’ salary
Teachers protesting outside the Ministry of Education on Brickdam last week
Kaieteur News – The Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) through attorney-at-law Darren Wade has initiated legal proceedings in the High Court to challenge the Government of Guyana (GoG) decision to deduct the salaries of the teachers participating in the strike, as well as to stop deducting teachers’ fees on behalf of the Union.
According to the document filed on Tuesday afternoon, the Attorney General (AG) Anil Nandlall, SC is listed as the respondent in the matter. The Union’s application includes a wide range of declarations and orders sought from the court.
GTU is asking the court for a conservatory order that the status quo remains the same that is the government will not deduct monies from the wages and salaries of teachers engaged in any industrial action, and to continue deducting the Union fees and remitting same to the GTU, until the determination of the matter.
The other orders and declarations, inter alia, include discrimination, breach of freedom of association, and breach of protection from deprivation of property. Furthermore, GTU requests declarations of bad faith by the government and breach of natural justice. They also request costs, aggravated damages, exemplary damages, and any other orders the court deems appropriate.
The application is grounded in several key arguments, including the GTU’s status as the authorised bargaining agent for all unionised teachers in Guyana. It cites agreements between the Ministry of Education and the GTU dating back to 1990, as well as efforts by the union to engage in negotiations regarding salaries and benefits. “On April 18, 2023, Ms. Coretta McDonald, General Secretary of (GTU) wrote to the President of Guyana, Mr. Irfaan Ali, appealing to him for an urgent meeting to discuss the way forward for the teachers. She penned that the (GTU) had shared its proposals for salaries and non-salaries benefits dating back to 2020 but they were not engaged at any level to discuss the same,” the document states. The application provides a detailed timeline of events leading up to the GTU’s decision to take industrial action. This includes correspondence between union officials and government representatives regarding negotiations and conciliation efforts. The application highlights the Union’s frustration with the lack of progress and the government’s failure to address their concerns.
Letters were written to the Permanent Secretary of the Education Ministry, Shannielle Hoosein-Outar, as well as Chief Labour Officer, Dhaneshwar Deonarine – with no satisfactory outcome from the letters to the government officials – on January 23, 2023 a notice was sent to the government pending industrial strike action.
On Monday, February 5, 2024, the GTU began a nationwide industrial action for better wages. “This action was taken as a result of the Ministry of Education and Office of the President’s recurring failure to engage with the (GTU) for discussion concerning their salaries…as a result of the Chief Labour Officer’s failure to initiate conciliation and arbitration process,” the court document states.
On February 6, the government issued a notice informing GTU that it will no longer act as an agent to deduct the dues from the teachers’ salary on behalf of the Union. The Union is seeking a retraction of the letter as well as an apology. Moreover, the application challenges several allegations made by the government, including claims of threats, cyberbullying, and divisive sentiments. The union asserts that these allegations were not properly addressed or substantiated and that they were not given a fair opportunity to respond.
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