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‘Priya says is OP: Jagdeo says is Priya’ – as Govt. flip-flops on who is responsible for salary talks with teachers
Kaieteur News – Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday said that despite the government engaging with the Guyana Teacher’s Union continuously, they chose to walk away and instead called strike action.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo
He also contradicted Education Minister, Priya Manickchand who had said that salary negotiations for teachers are being led by the Office of the President and not her ministry. Jagdeo said that those talks are being done by the Education Ministry. At his weekly news conference he was asked by this publication “at what stage of this industrial action will the government relent and meet with the union?” Jagdeo said that, “They had meetings. I just demonstrated to you that they had meetings that were ongoing. They met on the 31st of January they had a meeting scheduled for the 21st of February, based on an understanding that they and the Ministry of Education will meet continuously every third Wednesday of every month.”
The VP explained that there were engagements and the union chose to walk away from that, calling for a strike even though the Ministry would have resolved around 30 of the 40 plus issues, they had highlighted in their letter.
Adding that, “salary talks are not done by the Office of the President,” Jagdeo noted that President Irfaan Ali when he had met with teachers did not have a salary and wages negotiations with the head teachers. He said the meeting that the President had with them, was just for them to air their concerns. “That was not a negotiation with the headteachers or the teaching body on wages and salaries. That was not a negotiation the President was listening to them as citizens of this country.”
The VP told the media that the union’s demands are unreasonable. “If we accede to their demands that will put a teacher at $500,000 per month. Where in this region or any country at our stage of development where would you get that pay?”
President Ali last Friday assured teachers protesting for better salaries that there is no need to down tools, urging them to be patient. During his speech at the commissioning ceremony for a simulator facility at the Berbice Oil and Gas college, the Head of State sought to address how his government is going to “fix the welfare” of not only teachers but also public servants including doctors and nurses.
“I said this to them then, that listen, we are going to commence the process of fixing your welfare but I wanted you to understand and Alistair (Alistair Routledge ExxonMobil Guyana Head) is here,-we suffer from our own good news sometimes- everybody believes that all the resources are available now (but) in 2027 then is when the real growth in revenue coming in would be seen in the country,” Ali pointed before adding , “and I said to our teachers, our nurses, our public servants and I say to them now again that we are committed to giving you the best life possible.”
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