Scott apologises to teachers
Minister in the Ministry of Social Protection Keith Scott yesterday apologised for stating that striking teachers are “selfish and uncaring”.
His statement on Friday led to both trade union groupings, the GTUC and FITUG condemning him in yesterday’s edition of Stabroek News. His statement has also attracted condemnation from teachers and on social media.
In a statement issued by the Ministry of the Presidency yesterday, Scott said “I would like to offer my sincerest apologies to the teachers of Guyana. I regret making such an inflammatory and hurtful statement. I have always and will always hold the teachers of our nation in the highest regard.
“It was never my intention to be disrespectful of, or to downplay the legitimate industrial actions taken by the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) on behalf of its membership and teachers generally. “I humbly and sincerely apologise”. Scott’s remarks were all the more baffling as he is the minister responsible for conciliating talks between the government and the union. The GTU and other unionists have said that they have no confidence in him performing this role as he participated in the wage talks on the side of the government.
In remarks reported by the last Sunday Stabroek, Scott told a bursary award ceremony on Friday that striking teachers were “selfish and uncaring”.
“We do not sacrifice children. Children must never be used as pawns. Our responsibility must be to put children first, we can’t discard our care of them because we want a lil money,” he said of the teachers, who began striking last week and continued the industrial action when the new school term began on Monday.