Teachers in 15th day of strike, minibuses cutting trips
In some areas especially along the East Coast of Demerara, minibuses have begun to reduce the number of trips to George-town and short drops as a result of the teachers’ strike which enters its 16th day today.
According to some sources, minibus operators are saying that with reduced numbers of students travelling they have been forced to curtail the number of trips along the coast and to Georgetown. Teachers across Guyana have been on a nationwide strike calling for better salaries and collective bargaining. The picket yesterday at the Ministry of Education, Brickdam, resonated with chants accompanied by African drumming.
In an interview with
Stabroek News, President of the GTU, Mark Lyte said there has been a clear indication from the inception that teachers were ready to go back to their classrooms but they are awaiting the government’s response, through the Ministry of Education or the Ministry of Labour, to initiate discussions on collective bargaining.
Lyte said that for the last fourteen days there has been a clear indication that government was unwilling to come to the bargaining table. Furthermore, the government is consciously acting inconsiderately, and in doing so, it is reflective (of how they) value educators. “Children across the nation (attending public schools) were unable to access quality education
for 15 days while the government is yet to engage the union on the way forward,” Lyte said.
The GTU president also disagreed with those parents who opined that the teachers and union are unreasonable. “I think
those parents are blindsided, they have not really gotten a clear understanding of what teachers go through. In fact, many of them see the school as a ‘daycare centre’ and the fact that they can’t drop their children off to school and [they] have to make alternative arrangement may have been the reason
why some of them are saying that.”
Those parents who stood in solidarity with the teachers and the union were complimented for their support. “Those good parents who visit schools and understand the struggles of teachers recognize why we are here and they are with us, they are standing with
us in solidarity and that is why many of them have been keeping their children at home because they recognize that the teachers are out here for a just cause.”
Member of Parliament and teacher Nima FlueBess told reporters yesterday that it is “disheartening