STRIKE OVER! Teachers return to classrooms on Wednesday

…“we will continue to work in the interest of all workers” – Pres Ali

After two extensive days of mediation, the Education Ministry and Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) were successful in reaching an agreement on Monday – one that will see teachers returning to classrooms by March 6 and thereby ending the five-week long protest for better pay.

At the High Court, Senior Counsels Edward Luckhoo and Robin Stoby – who were appointed by Justice Sandil Kissoon as mediators exited the engagement after over six hours, signalling a thumbs-up that there was a favourable outcome.
When asked if the mediation process has ended, Stoby replied, “It has, indeed,” while Luckhoo added, “successfully.”

Attorney-at-Law representing the Government, Darshan Ramdhani later told the media, “We are pleased to report that the children of the nation, those students who are in school will be pleased to know that the teachers will resume work on Wednesday, 6th March.”
Within 48 hours of the agreement, both sides will return to the table to discuss the requests of the Union, as well as those of the ministry. However, it will take on a more ‘conciliatory approach’.
Initially, the Union had asked for everything to be on the table for discussions and seemingly ‘more than that’ during the mediation process, Ramdhani added.
The attorney stated, “I believe good sense has prevailed in this process…It is a matter for them to present their list of matters when they turn up at the Ministry of Education to commence these discussions, and that will be dealt with when they present that. But I should add that either side will have the opportunity of putting forward matters that they want to engage on and discuss.”

Meanwhile, GTU President Mark Lyte told media operatives that the strike is officially over and that the financial matters is foremost on the agenda to the ventilated.
“We expect that our teachers return been given them the assurance that the financial matters, as we were hammering them out, will be discussed Thursday…the matter with the financial deductions as well as the deduction of dues, remittance of dues, those are before the court so those are those were not placed on the table.”
Lyte added that matters from the multi-year agreement which will be discussed include housing, duty-free concessions, among others.
The GTU official disclosed, “There are quite a lot of other things that are included in the proposal we presented but finance is one of the critical ones that we will be pushing…It’s sets the framework for the process the comments, collective bargaining. As you’ve heard, the Ministry of Education is saying everything is on the table. Our previous engagements were just policies in nature. Now, they are committing to deal with all the financial matters. So, we consider this to be an attempt to treat with collective bargaining.”
The signed agreement from Monday’s mediation, adds that, “The discussions shall take place at the Ministry of Education Boardroom…and will continue for a reasonable period of time.”

Interest of all workers
Meanwhile, President Dr Irfaan Ali in a social media post after the successful mediation process, said, “Exactly what I have been saying all along, no different! Return to work and allow the process that was ongoing to continue. Why was this so difficult? The same request the Ministry of Education and Government have been making continuously. As a responsible Government, we will continue to work in the interest of all workers.”

Court proceedings
The GTU had filed court proceedings to block the Government from, among other things, cutting the salaries of those teachers who have been on strike since February 5.
During a hearing last week, the presiding judge, Justice Sandil Kissoon, named the Senior Counsels as mediators. This was done through the court invoking the Civil Procedure Rules 2016 Part 26 (Court Ordered Meditation).
Last month, the High Court granted Conservatory Orders for the Government to, among other things, continue paying teachers who are on strike until the court proceedings are determined.
Later, Chief Education Officer Saddam Hussain was hauled before the court and ordered by Justice Kissoon to rescind a circular that was issued to Regional Education Officers to continue documenting the names of teachers who were absent from work in a bid to deduct their pay for the days they were on strike.

Salary-related issues
Meanwhile, Chief Education Officer (CEO) Saddam Hussain has countered claims made by the GTU in its court proceedings that it was never engaged by the Education Ministry on salary-related issues for teachers.
The GTU said its General Secretary, Coretta McDonald, had wrote President Dr Irfaan Ali on April 18, 2023, requesting an urgent meeting to discuss the way forward for teachers. “She penned that the Guyana Teachers’ Union had shared its proposals for salaries and non-salaries benefits dated back to 2020 but they were not engaged at any level to discuss the same,” the court document stated.
In court documents filed by the GTU (Applicant) in February 2024 against the Attorney General of Guyana (Respondent), the union disclosed that only non-financial matters were discussed with the Education Ministry regarding its multi-year proposal for the period 2019-2023 that was submitted to Government in September 2020.
Hussain in his affidavit to the court pointed out in the court document that from August 11, 2020 until January 31, 2024, the GTU and the MoE met continuously, at an average of once monthly – sometimes as many as three times per month. Those meetings, he noted, dealt with the demands of the Applicant as well as demands of the MoE regarding the general welfare and well-being of teachers and the best interests of the education sector.
“These engagements were very constructive and led to a large number of mutually beneficial decisions and measures being implemented,” the CEO stated.
In fact, Hussain outlined, in his Affidavit, some of the specific requests of the GTU since 2020 and the number of these requests, which have been favourably addressed by the Education Ministry as well as the Government.
“These range from wage increases, duty-free concessions, scholarships, hinterland benefits, conditions for re-employment, welfare matters, grants and house lots,” said the CEO, who submitted these as an exhibit to the court.
Hussain further explained that the MoE has “successfully and satisfactorily” addressed 30 of the 41 proposals made by the Applicant in the past three years, and of the 11 outstanding requests, two are specifically only to benefit GTU executive members, while two others cannot be granted because they are contrary to the Laws of Guyana.
The CEO went onto note in the Affidavit that the last engagement with the GTU on January 31, 2024 – a mere five days before the strike action commenced, was “very cordial and constructive and was conducted with an aura of camaraderie.” That meeting, he noted, concluded with a decision to reconvene on February 21, 2024.
“There was absolutely no animosity nor acrimony between the parties when they parted company.”
The legal proceedings filed by the GTU was to block the Education Ministry from cutting the salaries of those teachers who had been on strike for the past four weeks as well as to reverse an MOE decision to stop deducting union dues from teachers’ salaries and remitting same to the GTU. (G12)