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Spice-producing Grenada paying teachers more than oil-producing Guyana – Dr. Adams
Kaieteur News – With an abundance of oil and gas resources in Guyana, the Government should not be making excuses to pay teachers a livable salary.
Guyanese Scientist, Dr. Vincent Adams
This view was expressed by Guyanese scientist and oil governance advocate, Dr. Vincent Adams. Dr. Adams is adding his voice to support calls made by the GTU and other civil society members for an across-the-board pay increase for teachers. It has been 52 days since teachers have engaged in industrial action led by the GTU as part of their efforts to get the government to increase their salary in accordance to a multi-year agreement signed in 2019.
Speaking at a virtual panel discussion hosted by the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU), last week, Dr. Adams lamented the fact that teachers have to protest for better pay in an oil-rich Guyana. Adams, a former Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pointed to the striking difference in pay between Guyanese teachers and teachers in other parts of the region. He noted that many times teachers in Guyana are being paid two times less than a teacher in the island.
Dr. Adams explained that “The average teachers’ salary in Guyana is less than GY$180,000 a month before tax. …Here we are the richest country not only in the Caribbean but on the planet with the highest GDP which we brag about but yet still we’ve got countries such as Grenada; where the only thing that Grenada has and I’m not trying to be derogatory here; the only thing that Grenada has is nutmeg and some spices…They are called the spice island. Do you know what the average salary of teachers in Grenada is US$1,890.”
“In Guyana, your average salary is less US$850 which means that a Grenadian teacher is making two and a half times more than their Guyanese counterparts. Imagine, we got the highest GDP with the lowest teacher salary…” Dr. Adams continued.
He said too that other Caribbean territories like Antigua that do not even have a drop of oil, their teachers are being paid more. “In Antigua, their teachers are making USD $1110; Trinidad and Tobago, their teachers are making $1,500 per month and in St. Maarten, the teachers are making close to USD $3000 per month,” he explained.
As such, Dr. Adams said teachers should not feel guilty for asking for a pay raise. “Teachers pay issues should not be made to be about politics!” he posited. “You’re fighting to feed your kids that is not partisan politics…You fighting to send your kids to school that is not partisan politics…You’re fighting for a living wage not to live a luxurious life; you are fighting for a living wage to provide shelter for your kids.” “So, politicians should not guilt trip you. They are the ones that got a $300,000 raise this year on top of their fat salary and most of them are probably making about $2 million per month,” he added.
According to Dr. Adams, the teachers strike for better pay is a sad day for everyone in Guyana. “The things that I have heard for 51 odd days as a matter of fact make you feel like our leaders in Guyana, they do not have a heart. But you have to stay strong; you have the noblest profession without question in my book and without a doubt, in many other people’s books,” Dr Adams said.
He continued that “Every single person be it a lawyer, a doctor, an engineer, they all pass through the hands of teachers …You are one who mold them even beyond the math and science, you mold them, you build character in them which is more important for the nation.”
To further support his view that teachers should be paid more, the Guyanese scientist alluded to this year’s national budget where a chunk of the finances went to building infrastructure. He suggested that some of that money can be used to pay teachers better. “Education is the number one criteria used for building budget, it’s not infrastructure…This Government has everything upside down…The 2024 budget that was passed in parliament, infrastructure received $666 billion of our budget–that is 58 percent of the budget… Teachers got a paltry $29 billion.” Dr. Adams said. He reasoned, “If you give a 50 percent raise …it means they could take $14 billion from infrastructure which will take you to about $42 billion a year; if you take that $14B from the infrastructure budget, they will still have $652B remaining which is just a paltry 2 percent of that budget.”
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