‘We will not be bullied’ – Striking teachers tell Government

Mar 02, 2024 News

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Kaieteur News – Striking teachers on Thursday made it clear that they will not be bullied by the Government of Guyana on the issue of better salaries and working conditions.

“We teach against bullyism, we will not be bullied,” was among the cries of teachers who protested the Ministry of Education’s Brickdam office on Friday. Friday’s protest marked the 20th day of countrywide strike and protests.

The teachers who gathered in their numbers outside of the government office are of the firm belief that the government’s posture is tantamount to bullyism, an act that contradicts that which is instilled in the nation’s children.

Kemone Gentle told Kaieteur News that, “We as teachers, we have been teaching against bullysim yet we are being bullied by government hence the reason why the case is in court. We are in the court because this government believes in bullyism. This should have been addressed out of court.”

The educator, who has been in the profession for over a decade described the government’s posture as that of a “dictator”.

“I see the government as being aggressive. It is very difficult for us to survive on 6.5. While the matter is in court, I would have thought by now our government, Dr Irfaan Ali would have intervened but instead he said we have to wait,” the angry teacher said.

She continued: “It is very disgusting, very disrespectful to teachers. Over the years teachers have been spoken down to [and] it is time that we be respected. It is time that we be recognized for the invaluable job that we do as teachers. We need to be not only respected but also appreciated.”

Head of Department Social Studies at President’s College, Abiva Cort chimed in adding, “I strongly believe that it has been in the DNA of administrations over the years …to showcase bullyism in all forms. This is just another setting where the PPP [government] has pushed its evil head where it shows it’s actually a bullying government.”

Cort added that everything the government does shows that they believe in the bullying of the masses. “They don’t come clean and say this is the case, let’s work on it. They don’t govern for the masses of the people. They just speak down because they think the working class are uneducated so that’s how they treat us,” she said.

Similarly, Robinson George told Kaieteur News that it has been a while since collective bargaining occurred.

“It’s a long time now since they did have the collective bargaining issues, I understand since 2020. We are looking forward to that [collective bargaining. We want a favorable response from the government that is why we are here. As we know the cost of living is very high and so we try to depend on the little.”

George explained that his family is being affected as his salary isn’t enough. His children are in school and when it comes to transportation and food it is difficult to manage.

“It is affecting my family. I am a teacher, and I am not getting enough. I have children studying. The transportation and food are affecting us. So, I am only hoping that based on the decision from the judge, let’s see how forward they will move but I am hoping things will be better,” Robinson stated.

The High Court appointed mediation process which is intended to end the standoff between the Government and Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) began on Friday morning.

Justice Sandil Kissoon on Thursday invoked the Civil Procedures Rules 2016, Part 26 for Court Ordered Mediation to resolve the ongoing industrial action that has impacted the education system for close to a month.

Justice Kissoon announced that Senior Counsel, Edward Luckoo and Robin Stoby have agreed to serve as mediators in the national interest.

The orders were made despite repeated objections from Attorney General Anil (AG) Nandlall SC.

In voicing his reservation, the AG told the Court that the two parties have had a track record of consistent dialogue. He noted that nothing is stopping the Government via the Ministry of Education and the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) from speaking again.

“There is already a framework in place, let the parties be allowed to resume talks under the same arrangement. The government has never reneged from meeting with the union, and I don’t think that the mediation is necessary because the union can come back and begin negotiations,” the Attorney General said.

However, Attorney-at-Law Darren Wade told the court that despite several attempts, the government has refused to engage in collective bargaining as it relates to teachers’ salaries.

“The AG was misinformed, and as a result of his misinformation, he misguided the Court. The talks have been ongoing since 2018, there was an agreement between the Ministry of Education and the Guyana Teachers Union in 2018, when they went on strike, and those talks dealt with policy issues and classroom issues. The issues about collective bargaining, the government has been refusing over the last three plus years to meet with the Union to deal with those hard issues,” Wade said.

For his part, Justice Kissoon noted that there was a breakdown in talks which led to the Union initiating industrial action. The Judge pointed out that for 25 days, the two sides did not meet much to the detriment of the nation’s children.

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• accept, Bully, court, strike, teachers

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