Dear Editor,
I know of no arrangement where workers are paid to be on strike. The GTU and its supporters in the Opposition APNU-AFC, plus their so-called civil society comrades, are delusional on this score.
In Guyana, we have the extraordinary situation where some teachers are engaged in a politically motivated strike and yet want to be paid. The strike is clearly political. A senior member of the union confirmed this by leaking that there is a “corporate sponsor” for what is clearly illegal.
The nation should know that GTU represents only about 32% of all teachers in the country. A substantial number of these are concentrated in a few urban areas, and are card-carrying members and activists of the APNU-AFC.
Put differently, most teachers in Guyana do not support GTU. It is that simple.
Politically, I am deeply invested in the professional welfare of teachers. I have been in the classroom for 38 years, and I engaged in one of the longest strikes in Canadian history (York University, Spring 1997), during which time no striker received a dime in regular pay. We received strike pay from our union, but that was it.
Strikers never receive their pay from their employers anywhere in the world. The GoG is on solid ground, and should not reward those who are hell-bent on being disruptive.
Sincerely,
Dr Randy Persaud
