Court orders mediation between GTU, Ministry
-two senior counsel to preside
In a major development in the teachers’ strike which has dragged on for 18 school days, Justice Sandil Kissoon yesterday ordered that mediation begin today with two senior counsel and both the GTU and the government will attend though the latter last night said that judicial intervention was unnecessary given established industrial relations practices.
Justice Kissoon urged both the Ministry of Education and the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) to put their “best foot forward” in the process.
In his order yesterday afternoon Justice Kissoon appointed Senior Counsel Edward Luckhoo and Senior Counsel Robin Stoby to be mediators for today’s process which is to be held in the courtroom.
According to Justice Kissoon, the court is hopeful that following the mediation, issues can be addressed which may result in teachers returning to their classrooms with the resumption of teaching as early as next Monday. “We look forward to positive results (today)”, the judge said.
The mediation order followed a deadlock on the streets with teachers from all across the country refusing to back down and the government showing no interest in talks which the GTU had sought. Despite the strike having gone on for weeks, the Ministry of Labour and the
Chief Labour Officer showed no interest in enabling conciliation which perhaps provided impetus for the court’s decision yesterday.
Attorney General, Anil Nandlall SC on behalf of the Ministry of Education yesterday attempted in court to request that both parties meet without mediators, explaining that the duo’s monthly meeting for a multi-year agreement, was to have been held on February 21st.
Stating that the government “obviously” would like a return to normalcy, Nandlall said, “I am asking for an opportunity for the Union and the Ministry to be allowed to resume that engagement on their own accord.”
Nandlall also asked that the two meet “without mediators”, however, Justice Kissoon quickly rejected this, stressing that the mediators will be present.
Counsel for the Guyana Teachers’ Union, Attorney at Law, Darren Wade, said, “We would love to have the mediation as suggested by the court.”
The judge in his order stated that the parties to the proceedings shall engage and participate in “a mediation on Friday the 1st of March, 2024 to be conducted at 9.30 am at the Court 3 of the High Court of the Supreme Court of Judicature together with any further sessions as may be deemed appropriate and necessary.”
He said the mediation and sessions will be conducted by the two senior counsel appointed by the court to facilitate the process of dialogue between the two parties “with a view of obtaining a meaningful resolution of the differences that caused the teachers to be away from the institutions and to have a resumption of normalcy of conversation to which the Attorney General alluded.”
He urged the parties to work to arrive at a common platform where “all are satisfied.”
He said, “To have the teachers back in the institutions, to have their concerns addressed, to have a
framework in place that will facilitate an ongoing conversation and dialogue that the necessity for industrial action does not arise in the future.”
He then adjourned that aspect of the proceedings as they await a mediation report.
Meanwhile, GTU President, Mark Lyte, reported to the court yesterday that the strike has been ongoing for 25 days now.
Contempt
The mediation order followed contempt of court proceedings on Wednesday when Justice Kissoon summoned Chief Education Officer Saddam Hussain for the issuing of a memorandum to teachers which
was deemed to be contemptuous of an earlier order of the court that no deductions be made from teachers’ salaries pending the hearing of the substantive case brought by the GTU.
The GTU had gone to court after the government had declared that the teachers would not be paid for the days they were on strike and that the deduction of union dues from teachers’ salaries would be stopped.
When the matter came up in court, Justice Kissoon on February 22nd ruled that the Government was barred from deducting monies from striking teachers’ salaries until the GTU’s legal challenge against this move is determined.
During Wednesday’s hearing when Hussain apologised to purge himself of contempt, the judge enquired why the two sides had not met. The GTU immediately said it was ready for talks whereas Nandlall asked for 24 hours to consult his superiors. The matter was adjourned to yesterday