GTU slams Govt. for refusing to deduct teachers’ dues

Jul 04, 2025 News

…cites violation of court order

GTUC slams Govt. for refusing to deduct teachers’ dues

President of the GTU, Coretta McDonald

Kaieteur News – The Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) has called out the Ministry of Education and by extension the Government of Guyana for its continued refusal to reinstate the automatic remittance of teachers’ union dues in accordance with orders made by the High and Appeal Courts.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the GTU expressed its deep displeasure and concern regarding the ongoing situation. According to the GTU, this matter has been conclusively addressed in both the High Court and the Court of Appeal of Guyana with rulings clearly in favour of the GTU. Despite this, the GTU noted that the Ministry of Education has failed to comply with the court’s decisions.

According to the Teachers’ Union, following these rulings, judgment documents were officially served on the Attorney General, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, the Regional Executive Officers, and all other relevant authorities. “Yet, no action has been taken to correct the situation.”

As a result, the Union has also written formally to both the Chief Education Officer and the Permanent Secretary to urge immediate compliance. Additionally, the GTU has engaged the Minister of Labour on this matter highlighting the urgency and seriousness of the issue. “The Union sees this continued inaction as a blatant disregard for the authority of two of the highest courts in the country. It also reflects a serious level of disrespect toward the legal system of Guyana and the rule of law,” the statement highlighted.

The GTU therefore calls on the Government and the Ministry of Education to act immediately and reinstate the automatic deductions, in full compliance with the court’s rulings. “The Union remains committed to defending the rights of its members and upholding justice within the education sector.”

Earlier this year, the Court of Appeal, rejected the State’s application to stay an order by Justice Sandil Kissoon in the High Court which mandated them to continue deductions and remittance of the GTU dues. The State had made an application to stay Justice Kissoon’s order which mandated the continuation of deductions of union dues and their remittance to the GTU.

Appeal Court Judge, Dawn Gregory had highlighted that the GTU would suffer undue prejudice if the stay were granted, stating that the balance of justice lies in favour of the Union.

Justice Kissoon had initially granted an interim conservatory order on February 22, 2024. This order restrained the Government of Guyana from ceasing the deduction of union dues from the wages and salaries of GTU members and required their remittance to the Union due to a strike.

The judge made the orders at the first hearing of the case, filed by the GTU, to challenge the Government’s decision to deduct pay from the salaries of striking teachers and also blocking the administration from moving ahead with a decision to discontinue the deduction of union dues until the determination of the full case the GTU brought against the government.

The order was made absolute by the same Judge on April 17, 2024, when the Court delivered its ruling. However, despite these clear judicial directives last April, the State failed to deduct and remit the union dues as instructed.

The High Court was later notified of the State’s failure to remit teachers’ dues to GTU despite a court order instructing the Ministry of Education to maintain the status quo.

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Coretta McDonald., Guyana Teachers Union, High and Appeal Courts, Justice Sandil Kissoon

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