GTU remains ready to engage MoE to end impasse – Lyte

– calls on Labour Ministry to step up as ‘mediator’

Over one week since it called a countrywide strike for higher salaries and better working conditions, the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) stands firm in its commitment to meet with the Education Ministry to facilitate dialogue and ultimately end the impasse.
President of the GTU, Mark Lyte during an address on Tuesday contended that they are not interested in any policy talk with the Education Ministry, but instead, it must address the b burning issue of wage increases.
Since last week, protest actions by teachers across the country reflect that they are not pleased with just the 6.5 per cent increase for public servants, announced by the Government in December 2023.

“We don’t want to talk about policies. We want to talk about finance. Let the agency or the group of people that the President entrusted to do financial talks, let them meet with us. We are ready right now. If they call us right now, we are going to get our team ready in five minutes to go where they need us to be so that we can broker talks on the way forward,” Lyte directed.
As such, the GTU President called on the Labour Ministry to step up and act as the mediator in these talks as he further added that the engagement will allow for greater clarity on the government’s plans for educators.
“What is the function of a Ministry of Labour? At all times, to act as a mediator…Bring the two sides together and engage to ensure that there is some level of normalcy…Let the plan be known. When will the teachers be getting an increase? How much will they be getting? Let us come to the table and amicably resolve this matter.”
A letter dated February 9 was dispatched to the Permanent Secretary of the Education Ministry, Shannielle Hoosein-Outar indicating that the GTU was ready to commence discussions to return to normalcy. The Terms of Reference (TOR) were proposed, among other things, calling for there to be no victimisation, no loss of seniority or years of service, and no loss of pay for teachers.
This week, the Ministries of Education and Local Government and Regional Development issued a statement informing that teachers who were absent from work last week, without the necessary authorisation, will not be paid for the period.
It has been over one week since the protest actions were taken. The government has come out since then to share facts, highlighting that salaries for graduate teachers increased by some 35 per cent since 2020 and will reach almost 50 percent by 2025.
Urging teachers to be fair and put the interest of the students at heart, President Dr Irfaan Ali on Sunday appealed to teachers to remember the good the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has made for them, and the commitments it has made to do even more. He had positioned that Guyana’s development is an incremental one and as such, public servants must be patient.
Ali referred to several initiatives the Government has rolled out and will continue to roll out to benefit teachers, while he urged them not to be used as political pawns.
The president highlighted measures the PPP/C Government implemented after it took office, including correcting salary scales for $700 million; increasing the remote area incentive from $9000 to $20,000; over a 100 per cent increase and the provision of 3800 scholarships to teachers.
He also referenced the $10,000 allowance for teachers with university degrees and the opportunity within their school to earn their degrees through the Associate Degree, Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL), and online teacher training programmes.
This week, the transparency and accountability of the GTU came under scrutiny, having found that their last audited statement was done in 1989 and financial statements to the Registrar were last submitted in 2004. President Ali urged teachers to ask questions of their union.
“I’m not going to go into the accountability issue of the union. But teachers must ask questions…$2 billion invested at 10 per cent returns can give you annual returns of $200 million. No audit from 2004. Those are questions you must ask your union,” he said.
“But I can assure you that this Government is committed to making the lives of every single worker in this country better, but workers must be committed to this process; workers must understand that there’s a short-, medium- and long-term plan. I can look every worker in the eye and say to them, ‘We’ve got your back’,” President Ali also added. (G-12)