ECD teachers decry 10% pay hike

Sep 13, 2024 News

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– seeking higher allowance to mark SBAs

Kaieteur News – Teachers on the East Coast Demerara on Tuesday decried the lowly 10% pay hike offered by the government as well as some of the incentives, which they said would benefit mostly the very senior educators.

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 on August 22, 2024 signed a multi-year agreement with the government accepting the ten percent pay hike for teachers and a slew of other benefits, none of which accorded with the demands of the union. Among other things, the agreement stipulates that teachers will receive a salary increase of 10% for 2024, 8% for 2025 and 9% for 2026. These are the same increases that were initially rejected by the union.

At a branch meeting held at the Golden Secondary School on Tuesday, teachers criticized the August 21, 2024 agreement between the Ministry of Education and the GTU. In addition to the 10% salary hike, the teachers also rallied against the $500 being paid per School Based Assessment (SBA), stating that the allowance is not enough given the amount of work that needs to be done for an SBA.

Furthermore, during the meeting, one teacher stressed that $500 is not enough given the amount of work that is needed to be done when marking SBAs for subjects in the science field. He explained that within the science field, he marks SBAs for the subjects: Chemistry, Biology among others. He said he is required to mark multiple reports within those SBAs. “What happen last year, my biology students had two lab reports that I had to mark and my chemistry had 19 lab reports that I had to mark, and I don’t understand how you are paying $500 to mark one SBA which comprises of so many reports,” he stated.

Regarding the multi-year agreement, the teacher said he was still trying to understand “where these benefits are and how they actually apply to me, because the only thing, I can see myself benefitting from is the little 10 percent, I did my calculations, I factored out the…NIS and everything and it came up to $7700.”

Vice President of the GTU with responsibility for Demerara, Collis Nicholson in response to the teacher issue said, “now that you going deeper into it, I have a better understanding, because I didn’t know all of that you were doing.” He also said, “… I understand where you are in terms of your subject area and I take my hats off to you, but we will sure have to revisit that sort of stuff when it comes to the SBA markers.”

Importantly, given that each subject has different categories within the field, the teachers requested that instead of paying per a student ($500 for an SBA), it would be more efficient if they are paid for a subject. The Regional Vice President stated, “So if you are a Science teacher …. And you are teaching chemistry, physics and biology, you should be paid for Physics SBA, Chemistry SBA and Biology SBA and not a child who is doing all of them, you are paying for that one child.”

Under the agreement, teachers will receive salary increases over the next three years: a 10% increase in 2024, followed by an 8% increase in 2025, and a 9% increase in 2026.

Additionally, teachers in remote areas will benefit from the increased Remote Area Incentive (RAI). In November 2023, this allowance stood at $9,000.  The Ministry noted that it was subsequently increased in December 2023 to $20,000. With the new agreement, teachers will now receive $23,000 monthly. Teachers with doctoral degrees will see their monthly allowance rise from $30,000 to $32,000, a 7% increase.

Those with master’s degrees, who received $10,000 monthly in November 2023, saw their allowance doubled to $20,000 in December 2023. With the new agreement, they will now receive $22,000.  Educators holding postgraduate diplomas, advanced graduate diplomas, and certificates in education will also see their monthly allowances increased to $7,000 and $5,000. Additionally, teachers who have completed the Certificate in Education Management Course will now receive a monthly allowance of $5,000.”

The station allowance, which compensates teachers for working in particular locations, has been increased to $5,000 for all eligible categories. The increase varies based on the category. Similarly, the hardlying allowance has been standardized at $5,000.

With the new agreement, teachers will be compensated for marking and supervising SBAs and the National Grades 5 & 6 Mock Exams. Non-graduate teachers (TS 1A to TS 5B) will also receive two additional increments after three years of continuous service, benefiting over 9,000 teachers (more than 60% of the teaching workforce). In some cases, this will result in salary increases of up to 15%. The Ministry of Education had said that this agreement represents a comprehensive package designed to enhance the welfare of our teachers and to recognise their pivotal role in shaping the future of our country.

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• Collis Nicholson, GTU, MOA, MOE, SBA, teachers

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