Teachers strike off
-talks at Ministry of Education to include financial matters
Court-ordered mediation yesterday succeeded in bringing a four-week-old teachers’ strike to an end and their union, the GTU will now be able to place salaries and collective bargaining on the table when talks begin with the Ministry of Education sometime this week.
After two days of gruelling talks, the mediation ordered on Thursday by Justice Sandil Kissoon produced results yesterday afternoon – breaking a deadlock that was entering its 5th week with the Ministry of Labour and the Chief Labour Officer refusing to bring the government and the union to the table and to find a way to end the strike.
The agreement reached between the two sides said that the teachers will resume work on or before Wednesday, March 6th, 2024.
Discussions shall then proceed within 48 hours of resumption of work and shall be in relation to those matters which either party considers relevant for discussion between the union and government which includes financial matters. The reference to financial matters is pivotal to the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) as the government has imposed salary increases over the last four years without any negotiations with it.
These discussions will take place in the boardroom of the Ministry of Education.
The agreement said that “Both parties reserve all their rights pursuant to any agreement or the laws of Guyana”.
In the agreement, the government reiterated its commitment to acting in good faith and in accordance with the laws of the country throughout the discussions. Meanwhile, the GTU also pledged to continue negotiating in good faith for the welfare of teachers.
GTU President Mark Lyte, along with the union’s Attorney Darren Wade, state legal representative Darshan Ramdhani KC and Chief Education Officer (CEO) Saddam Hussain, signed the agreement.
Ramdhani told reporters after the agreement was signed that he is pleased that teachers will resume duties by tomorrow. He noted that the country is at a critical time at school because there are School Based Assessments (SBA) and common entrance examination issues to be addressed. Ramdhani said the union requested in the beginning of the mediation process for all issues to be discussed.
GTU’s President, Lyte, meanwhile explained to reporters that the union was able to secure an agreement with the government after many years. Lyte said the government has agreed to discuss financial matters with the union with the union committing teachers to return to the classrooms. There are several other nonfinancial issues included for discussion, including teachers’ housing and additional duty-free concessions. Lyte said that the agreement is not an ordinary terms of resumption but it is one that was ordered by the court.
“We’ve finally been able to have an agreement with the government after all these years to come to the table to discuss our potent, pertinent, financial issues. I think what makes the difference here is it’s