Teachers’ annual salaries account for 1/3 of total annual public sector workers’ salaries

Dear Editor,
The Ministry of Education (MoE) have said emphatically that they have been involved in the process of negotiations with the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) when that union suddenly aborted the process and called a strike. The GTU did not wait to exhaust the collective bargaining procedure. Both the country’s Labour Minister, Hon Joseph Hamilton, and Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Hon Anil Nandlall, refer to the GTU strike not only as illegal, but as also representing a “breach of faith.”
The Vice President notes that the last meeting of the GTU with MoE occurred on January 31, 2024, and it was agreed then that they would meet every third Wednesday in succeeding months to address outstanding demands of the GTU.
Social commentator and accountant, Mr. Lallbachan Ram, has come to the assistance of the GTU, and lent his support for the strike. He has gone further to chide President Dr Irfaan Ali for not intervening to resolve the strike. This perceptive critic has allowed the context and perspective to fracture his usually coherent thinking. The President must consider not only the teachers’ working conditions, but also the entire public sector workforce of over 54,000.
Knowing there were ongoing negotiations up to 1/31/24, the President says the strike is “unconscionable”, since he has been working tirelessly in association with the Ministry of Education to address the issues affecting teachers.
It is noted by the MoE that they have already met 60% of the GTU’s demands, and were in continuous negotiations to address most of the remaining ones when the GTU called the strike.
Mr. Lallbachan Ram took aim at the apparent dereliction of responsibility of other unions in not submitting their annual reports to the relevant authorities in the expectation that this would neutralise the aberrations of the GTU. The GTU did not submit their annual reports to the Deeds and Commercial Registry since 2004, and failed to provide annual audited reports since 1989. Mr. Ram states that NAACIE, which he aligns with the PPPC Government, did not produce annual financial reports to the Auditor General.
This assertion was debunked by a top NAACIE official, who said: “Ram needs to check his facts. NAACIE returns are up-to-date as at 2022, and the 2023 report is due in March, by which time we will again be up-to-date. What is outstanding (are) the audited statements which are with the Auditor General from 2015, for which we have no control.”
Mr. Ram’s rationale follows a bizarre logic; it’s like absolving a person for committing a robbery because another person also committed a similar robbery and was not charged!
Let us return to the teachers’ strike, and examine some facts. First, the per capita cost for teaching students at Government schools is more than twice that at private schools.
Second, the PPPC Government has given teachers a pay raise of over 30% in 3 years, and has promised further assessment within the next two years. The Vice President says that, from assuming office in 2020 to the end of 2023, they have increased the total allocation for payment of teachers’ salaries by 61.4% (from $24.4 billion in 2020 to $39.4 billion).
The teachers’ salaries represent an extraordinarily high proportion (1/3) of the total salaries bill for the entire Government workforce, covering all sectors. Specific actions include the movement of graduate teachers to top of their scales, and they also being given an additional allowance for their BA/BSc, MA/MSc, and PhD degrees. Additionally, hinterland teachers were given an incentive of $20,000 per month, while 4,000 teachers have been awarded scholarships to upgrade their academic credentials.
Designated teachers who would attain the age of 52 would receive the duty-free car allowance.
Third, the PPPC Government has granted teachers and other workers several cost-of-living (COL) relief measures (totalling about $300 billion, based on JC Bhagwandin’s statistical analysis). The significance of the cost of those COL measures is expressed as the equivalent to 38.4% of the 2023 national budget amount.
Fourth, the average monthly salary of Guyana teachers is not US$600 as stated by a union member, but rather US$1,120 (divide the total salary bill of$39.4 billion by the number of teachers: 14,087).
While increases have been granted to teachers, there has been no discussion on how these increases and more to come would result in better academic outcomes. There is still poor academic performance in Math and Science (40% failure rate). To aggravate this situation, it has been reported that teachers have been absent from classrooms 30% of the time. If this assertion is correct, it is a damning indictment of the system, including the GTU!
Linking salary increase with academic performance is one issue, but another critical consideration is “sustainability.” The Government must determine if salary increases and benefits are sustainable over the long term (10 years and beyond). Oil resources will be depleted, and revenues will drop sharply. This (oil resource) is a subject for another time.
Finally, the Headmistress of Bishop’s High School spoke eloquently about the willingness of the Minister of Education and her CEO to address the needs of teachers in a timely manner, and how they are readily approachable. She does not feel that the strike was right. The opinions of the Headmistress coincide with those of her colleague headmaster of a school on the Essequibo Islands. These (opinions) resonate well with most teachers: 60% of them defied the GTU order to strike and are on the job. Others on strike must urgently re-evaluate their position. The President has asked for patience, and you must give him a chance, because he is action-oriented and delivers on promises.

Regards,
Dr Tara Singh