Court orders mediation between GTU, Ministry
afternoon at which point the court made the mediation order.
Governments and the judiciary have long urged that mediation services be utilized as a means of unclogging the courts.
In a statement last night, the government argued that it had done much for the teachers and had been engaged in cordial talks just shortly before the strike was called. The union had however argued that those talks dealt with a variety of issues but not collective bargaining as a whole.
In its statement last night, the government noted the judge’s mediation decision and “the implications such an Order may have as a precedent on industrial relations in the country, more specifically, the settled and well-established legal mechanisms and recourses currently extant for the resolution of those types of disputes, including the Dispute Settlement Agreement between the parties and the procedures set out in the Labour Act, Chap. 98:01. Similar processes have been invoked and employed with success in Guyana, the Caribbean, and indeed, the entire Commonwealth”.
The GTU has however argued that it has been seeking collective bargaining for years under this administration and that the Chief Labour Officer has not been responsive to its appeals.
“The Government wishes to make it abundantly clear that the Ministry of Education has had a long and settled practice of meeting with the Guyana Teachers’ Union on an almost monthly basis, since 11th August 2020. At these meetings, multiple issues relating to the welfare of teachers and the better and more efficient administration of the education sector have been addressed. These include both salaries and non-salary issues and benefits”, the government statement said. It attached a list of some of the measures and decisions which resulted from this process.
“Additionally, and apart from these engagements, the Ministry of Education has implemented another wave of measures and decisions which enure to the benefit of teachers. These measures were unsolicited by the Union and implemented upon the Government’s initiative over the past four (4) years”, it said.
The last of these engagements between the Ministry of Education and Guyana Teachers’ Union, the government said, took place on 31st January 2024.
“That meeting was cordial, courteous and constructive. At the meeting, at least 5 salary-related issues that were on the agenda were addressed. The meeting was adjourned to 21st February 2024 for the parties to continue to engage on those and other issues. At the end of the meeting, there was no evidence whatsoever of any rancour, discord or disagreement between the parties. As a result, the Government was understandably shocked when the Union, a few days after, announced its intention to resort to strike action. The Government wishes to emphasise that at all times, it was and remains, ready and prepared to resume those engagements”, the government statement said.
The main GTU demand was for collective bargaining which the government has not yet acceded to. Instead, President Irfaan Ali has met directly with some teachers – without the union – and made his own announcements of changes in conditions.
“While the Government does not think that judicial intervention was necessary, having regard to the established industrial practices referred to above, the Government will participate in the process with the firm expectation that it will put teachers back into the classrooms, as the Government’s paramount concern always is, and will remain, the best interests and welfare of the Nation’s students”, the government statement added.
The teachers’ strike from February 5th attracted support from all across the country particularly in regions two and six which are seen as supportive of the government. Daily protests were held outside the Education Ministry in Georgetown, other ministries and regional education offices. Parents and children also joined in in the protests.
The industrial action by the teachers saw some schools not operating at all as neither teachers nor children showed up. Some parents stopped sending their children to school out of uncertainty as to what was happening at the schools.