STOP PLAYING WITH OUR TEACHERS
The Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) has informed the Ministry of Education of its members’ intention to strike as of August 27. The ultimatum was issued following the breakdown of talks between the government and the union. The head of the GTU, Mark Lyte has stated that the teachers would accept what they consider a reasonable offer but the government seems to be either intransigent or uncompromising on all the major proposals by the union.
The breakdown of negotiations came six months after a High Level Task Force appointed by President David Granger to address the issues of teachers’ salaries and working conditions. However, the Task Force’s report which agreed with the majority of the GTU’s requests was inexplicably disregarded by the government. This seems to be another case of a waste of the taxpayers’ money, and the government acting unfairly and disrespectfully to the teachers, who clearly deserve better.
For too long our teachers have been neglected by governments, in spite of the crucial role they play in educating our children. During the 2015 election campaign, then APNU+AFC Presidential Candidate David Granger had promised to increase the salaries as well as improve the incentives that were in place for teachers. But nothing has manifested over the last three years since this administration came to power. The GTU president intoned that teachers have been without a contract since the Memorandum of Understanding ended in 2015. The union is convinced that there is a deliberate effort on the part of the administration not to address the proposals submitted by the GTU to the Ministry of Education.
The fact that the union has issued a strike ultimatum so early could possibly provide an opportunity for negotiators from both sides to reset. But for this to happen, both sides will have to adjust their hard ball approaches and compromise in the interest of the students.
The government, in particular, ought to take into consideration that the new school year is just three weeks away, hence, and it would be a colossal mistake for teachers not to be in the classrooms.
Should the teachers go on strike as planned, it will be the first in many years.
A strike by teachers will not bode well for the government for several reasons. One, the saying that all politics is local holds true in this case because with local government elections scheduled for November 12, it seems likely that the more than 9,000 public school teachers will punish the government by either voting for another party or not voting at all.
Two, most of the public schools are currently underperforming, which means that a prolonged strike will only worsen the situation. Third, our school dropout rate, especially among boys, is the highest in the Caribbean; therefore, a strike could see many of them leaving even earlier. And fourth, because of the low pay and poor working conditions that teachers endure, many qualified teachers have already moved away from the profession and some to ‘greener pastures’, and many more might will follow suit should a strike ensue.
There is a crisis in the education system, yet there has been seemingly no serious attempt by the government to meaningfully address the concerns of the teachers, who are earning less than their counterparts in the Caribbean. Instead, the administration has gone to great lengths to frustrate them.
It appears that the teachers have essentially reached a point of no return and that a strike is unavoidable, unless the government shows in some way that is ready to negotiate an acceptable pact in earnest. The government has to stop playing with our teachers. As reported, the Minister of Education has re-invited the union to the negotiating table. It may just be too late.
