GTU rule book prohibits Coretta McDonald as General Secretary – Jagdeo

Based on the provisions outlined in the rule book of the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU), Coretta McDonald’s current position as General Secretary could be a violation.
This according to Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, who during a press conference on Thursday pointed to Rule 3 in of the book which speaks to membership of the union and the various categories of membership.
According to the GTU Rule Book, Rule 3 (c) deals with associate membership, that is, teachers who leave the classroom to serve as Members of Parliament (MP). Under this Rule, a section states that “…Associate Members shall have the right to vote but shall not be eligible to hold the office of President or General Secretary.”
McDonald, who has been the GTU’s General Secretary for more than a decade, became a parliamentarian in 2020 for the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Opposition.
This, the vice president pointed out, is in violation of the union’s own rules.
“Coretta McDonald has been the General Secretary from, I think, 2006 but these rules prohibit you [from holding that post as a MP] …This is their own rules. Under case law, this is their contractual obligation with membership… It is saying that if you’re a Member of Parliament, you should not basically be the General Secretary of the union,” Jagdeo stated,
McDonald, who is currently leading the countrywide teacher’s strike organised by the GTU, has already come under scrutiny after claiming she is only being paid as a teacher and not as an MP – something which the Parliament Office has debunked, saying all parliamentarians, with the exception of Jagdeo, are paid a monthly salary.
“McDonald is paid as a teacher, she herself said this publicly… She receives a teacher salary as well as the parliamentarian salary,” the VP posited.
Since the commencement of the strike, however, the credibility of the GTU has also come into question. Last week, it was disclosed that the union’s records are not up to date. It has failed to file annual returns with the Registrar of Trade Unions since 2005. Similarly, the GTU has not submitted financial statements to be audited by the Audit Office since 1989.
According to Jagdeo, Rule 33 in the Rule Book states that GTU Executives could be imprisoned for three months for failing to provide this information.
While government could go after the union on these grounds of illegality, the Vice President said they have no plans to do so.
“Purely legally, we should have and the conclusion of this will be the derecognition of the union. But I don’t think it’s a wise thing to do at this stage. And they would just use it propaganda-wise… that we hate this union. So, I believe that we have to, going forward, take firmer steps against the union but also the membership of the union has a responsibility to hold the leadership to account,” the VP stated.

Rule book
In fact, Jagdeo further outlined the GTU Rule Book contains a series of benefits for teachers that are not being provided. These include Rule 26, which contains provisions for strike relief for teachers.
“The teachers themselves can ask more questions because under the rules, a number of benefits are listed there for teachers. For example, if they have a death in the family and if they need assistance with money etc. The union, from the dues, should really be assisting them.”
“So, the dues are really not to-fat fowl the union’s executives. But the dues are there to accumulate so you can provide strike relief in the future if you have to take industrial action and to assist your members in times of need. So, the teachers have to hold the union more accountable,” the Vice President stated.
Every month, a $700 fee is deducted from each unionized teacher and remitted to the GTU. This adds up to about $3.1 million monthly, and approximately $37 million annually.
In light of the souring of engagement relations between the Education Ministry and the GTU, the ministry has indicated to the union that it would stop deducting dues from the wages and salaries of teachers on its behalf. This means the union would now have to collect its fees directly from teachers.
However, the GTU has since approached the High Court, asking it to quash a decision by Government to stop deducting fees from unionized teachers.
In the application filed on Tuesday by the GTU and it’s President Mark Lyte against the Attorney General, the Union is asking the court to declare, among other things, that government ceasing to act as an agent for the GTU to deduct union dues is “unreasonable, arbitrary, and capricious”.
But Attorney General Anil Nandlall, S.C., has contended that the severance this ‘agency service’ that government offers to unions has already been settled by both the High Court and Court of Appeal, and declared as lawful.
The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) had challenged a decision by former Permanent Secretary of the Public Service Ministry, Nanda Gopaul, to withdraw government’s services of deducting union dues from public servants’ wages and salaries, and remit same to the union.
Former Chief Justice, the late Ian Chang, had ruled against the GPSU in 2010 that government’s actions was not wrong or unlawful, and this ruling was upheld in the Appeal Court in 2022. (G8)