Teachers to get separate increase from public servants – President Granger

President David Granger on Thursday said the proposed salary increases which were put forward to the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) for 2016, will not be the same for the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU).

“It is not my view that the GTU negotiations were part of the negotiations with the GPSU. I would have expected a separate arrangement to be made and I would say that the actual agreement between the Ministry of Education and the Guyana Teachers Union should be something which should be kept separate from the GPSU negotiations. We, as the Government, accept, we acknowledge [and] we observe the collective bargaining agreement and that is how the GPSU agreement was arrived at in the first place…,” President Granger said.

He said that the payment, when made, is a preliminary one as negotiations continue.

“Even with regard to the GPSU, the agreement, it’s not a final agreement. The Government of Guyana is still in engagement with the GPSU, so if it’s not final for GPSU, it can’t be final for GTU,” he said.

During the recording of the Ministry of the Presidency’s weekly programme, ‘The Public Interest’, the President, in response to questions on whether he would have received correspondence from the Guyana Teacher’s Union on the matter and whether he had engaged the Union, President Granger said he had indeed received the Union’s letter but he believes that the Union should first engage at a ministerial level with the Ministers in the Social Protection Ministry.

“As far as the trade union is concerned, yes I have received a letter and I have a Ministry of Social Protection and I would urge that the trade unions engage the Ministers first. It would be imprudent for me to overrule or override or try to deal with the unions without first giving the Minister responsible [a chance to engage]; and they are two Ministers in that Ministry. So it is important for the Trade Unions to engage her first and of course, the Minister who has specific responsibility for industrial relations,” the Head of State posited.

President Granger said that conciliation was not necessary at this time, as he noted that talks between the Union and Government were not discontinued. He cited the fact that there is a menu of measures which have not yet been exhausted. He noted that because of Government’s preparation of the 2017 Budget, talks between the Unions and the Government needed to have reached a certain point by September so that a budget could be prepared.

The President added, “The GPSU is fully aware that these matters are still on the table and the discussions are continuing. It is not a final offer; it is an offer which allows the Government to get on with its business and allow the public servants to enjoy the increase in pay to which we feel that they are entitled. We are still talking to the Union there’s no reason for conciliation at this stage because we are still engaged, it is not as though the talks are deadlocked but we are willing to move ahead and we can’t have the public servants suffering because of the slow pace of negotiations.”