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PNCR says Govt. 10% salary increase vindictive, disrespectful to teachers

Aug 24, 2024 News

Kaieteur News – The People’s National Congress (PNC) has once again called out the government on the salary increases offered to the teachers.

On Friday, the party released a statement calling the 10% increase signed between the Guyana Teacher’s Union (GTU) and the Ministry of Education disrespectful and vindictive.

“The People’s Progressive Party’s offer to the Guyana Teachers Union of a 10% increase on teacher’s salary is ridiculous, disrespectful, vindictive and a reflection of the disdain that the regime has for teachers and other public officials.”

On Wednesday, despite objections from a section of its General Council as well as rank and file members, President of the Guyana Teacher’s Union (GTU) Dr. Mark Lyte signed a multi-year agreement with the government accepting the 10% percent pay hike for teachers and a slew of other benefits none of which accorded with the demands of the union.

“It must be recalled that both Bharrat Jagdeo and Irfaan Ali demanded that the APNU+AFC government pay teachers 50%. They made this demand under the then government before the discovery of oil, claiming that the then government could afford it. Now when there is oil the said government is contending that they cannot afford to pay teachers 50% increase. This is the level of hypocrisy, disdain, vindictiveness and trickery that Bharrat Jagdeo and Irfaan Ali are meting out to the hard working teachers of this nation,” the PNC said Friday.

Furthermore, the party said that “the so-called package delivers little or nothing to teachers and is a mere smoke screen for concealing the fact that the government is unprepared to treat teachers fairly.”

“When it is recognised that the infrastructure budget is $666B and the main fund for PPP corruption, then it is obvious that the PPP is deliberately impoverishing our teachers and have no interest in improving the quality of their lives,” the PNC noted.

Meanwhile, just last week the Opposition party said that it supported the GTU’s rejection of the proposal.

“The PNCR fully supports Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) and all teachers in rejecting the PPP government’s insulting proposal of 10% salary increase for 2024, 8% for 2025, and 9% for 2026. Jagdeo’s claim that the union’s rejection results, from GTU General Secretary Coretta McDonald’s attempts to derail the union politically is politically hypocritical and comical. It is the same Jagdeo in 2018 who, as opposition leader, stated that teachers should be given 40% – 50% salary increases for the year. Now that the PPP is in government, with access to vast oil resources, its hypocrisy is on full display in its treatment of the nation’s teachers with its meaningless proposals of 8% – 10% salary increases.”

Furthermore, the party said that as the next government, it intends to ensure that “the teachers receive compensation retroactively and that all public servants enjoy livable wages across the board. The nation’s human resources are our most valued asset, and as the next government, our policies will reflect that.”

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