Norton restates support for teachers

other public servants will call for increases in salaries as well.

“This government… the President, let me start from him. He is very disrespectful to the teachers who taught him,” adding, “in addition to that, all the dinners and all the breakfasts and all the transportation and so it costs, and if you can find those monies to host CARICOM summit when your teachers are on the streets then it clearly shows that teachers aren’t valued in this government.”

She warned that if the strike continued without a response from the government, it would signal the beginning of an exodus of teachers leaving Guyana in search of better opportunities. “We have already seen numerous amounts of forms being distributed amongst teachers’ groups. These are forms encouraging teachers to travel to the UK, Canada, Jamaica, and the USA.”

Elected

McDonald seized the opportunity to remind the government that she was not appointed, but elected by thousands of teachers as the General Secretary of the GTU. She said that Jagdeo seemed to take issue with her position as an opposition member of parliament.

“They are using that as a form of union busting, but our teachers have read them very clear and our teachers have decided that Coretta McDonald is a teacher just like any other, she is union member just like her counterpart over at GAWU, Seepaul Narine.”

The General Secretary accused the government of trying to create a rift between the teachers and GAWU, but they will not fall for such tactics .

Meanwhile, GTU President, Mark Lyte, took to the union’s Facebook page where he conducts regular livestreams, to inform viewers of the current situation facing the union and teachers. He disclosed that Education International [a global union federation of teachers’ trade unions] has proposed a sit-down with MoE and the union, but to date the ministry has refused. He expressed the hope that international bodies such as UNICEF takes note of the learning loss the government is allowing to take place.

“All the union has been saying is let’s talk” which Lyte noted has been met so far with dead silence from the MoE, underscoring their resistance to come to the table to have collective bargaining. “They are not concerned about the plight of teachers, all we are seeing is business as usual with energy conference, business conference, CARICOM Heads of Government conference…launching of this, launching of that, signing of this, signing of that, unbothered that the nation’s children are affected.”