2500 volunteer teachers to be deployed – Education Minister

…Govt unsure about ability to pay teachers increase

The Education Ministry has found itself in a position where it is unable to say how much, if any, of an increase is feasible to offer teachers at this time, although the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) has been in talks with the Ministry for over two years with regards to a salary increase.

This was related during an emergency press conference held by the Ministry on Monday evening, at the National Centre for Education and Research Development (NCERD) on Battery Road, Kingston, Georgetown.
The emergency press conference was attended by Education Minister Nicolette Henry, Chief Education Officer Marcel Hutson and several other executives from the Ministry.
The Minister also announced that beginning today, 2500 volunteer teachers will be deployed to schools to assist in classrooms.
Henry pointed out too that these persons are currently in their database, which comprise of volunteers, job hunters and even retired teachers. She however did not divulge if background checks have been done on the volunteer teachers to determine their suitability for interacting with children.
When asked whether the Ministry can at this time finance an increase and if so, how much, the Minister responded, “This matter is currently going through the collective bargaining process and so GTU will have to go to the table and say well they are ready to take that amount and then we will review our position also”.
She said bargains cannot be done through the media and so the parties will have to meet and discuss their positions, which will be adjusted to.
Further, she said the GTU does not have a choice but to go through the process of conciliation.
According to her, “For due process to occur, you will have to go through and exhaust all of the stages… It’s like if you are in the courts, you cannot get to CCJ (Caribbean Court of Justice) without at least going through the Appeal Court and the High Court”.
“So you don’t get to choose to start at the end of the process so we have to ensure that we go through the process,” she added.
“You may be aware we are currently in a dispute more or less and so the collective bargaining agreement provides for the procedure. At this point in time you may also be aware that we would have exhausted the first phase of that procedure which was the negotiation phase so we are now at the second phase which is conciliation,” the minister noted.
Henry said this process would see the two parties, along with a third-party, meeting to perform the duties of a mediator, which is presently the Social Protection Ministry’s Department of Labour.
She related that the Ministry is awaiting a call from the mediator to address the issue at hand. The Minister said both parties were expected to bring their suggestions to the table, which was not done due to a number of reasons.
She maintained that the Government is unable to pay out the hefty amount of a 40 per cent increase to its teachers, since it will cost over $40 billion to do so.
The GTU had said they are willing to accept a ‘substantial amount’ from the Government during its protest action held on Monday.