15 August 2018
Guyana government commits to pay hike for teachers
By Guyana Chronicle
Guyana Chronicle:- MINISTER of Education, Ms. Nicolette Henry, said talks between the Government of Guyana and the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) held last Thursday were not concluded but rather, some aspects of the union’s terms were agreed and a decision was taken for another meeting to be held to iron out the outstanding issues.
However, she noted that the government remains committed to paying teachers their increases. The union has called on its members to go on strike and has since notified the Ministry of Education of its intention. In an invited comment with the Ministry of the Presidency’s Public Information and Press Services Unit, Minister Henry said that coming out of last week’s meeting, the two sides agreed to some recommendations, but noted that some could not be agreed, while others were completely withdrawn by the union.
“I want to point out that some were agreed on in part, because it required much more than one area. For instance, [on] the issue related to duty-free concessions, we agreed entirely on what was proposed; when it came to the issue of housing and the Revolving Fund, we agreed also. However, [on] the issue of salary and debunching, we did not agree on [sic] at all [since] the government proposed a ball park figure. In the case of debunching, we are looking at $200 million to address debunching for the year 2018. The union suggested that they believe that it should be retroactive and therefore they were not in agreement with looking at just 2018. In addition to that, the issue of salary also, for which we had allocated the sum of $700 million, they felt that should also be retroactive,” she explained.
Minister Henry said given the difference of opinions and the number of issues that had to be addressed, the union and the government’s side “agreed in principle that we will meet subsequently to address the issues that were not resolved at that first meeting. So, my understanding and at least the agreement that came out of that meeting, is that we will meet subsequently; and it is my intention to invite the union to continue to have meetings as was agreed [to] at our initial meeting.”
Breach of agreement
The Minister of Education said that based on this agreement therefore, the actions of the union are not in keeping with the position that was taken at the first meeting. However, she noted that she is prepared to invite the union back to the table before the week is through.
“I’m looking at a meeting this week, because it’s both urgent and important and therefore we need to ensure that we continue to address and resolve these issues in the most effective way and with also some amount of expediency,” Ms Henry said.
The Education Minister further explained that the reason the government’s side proposed a ball park figure had to do specifically with the process involved in debunching and salary increases. She noted that the union was asking for a 40 per cent increase across the board, which the ministry felt would have further compounded the issue related to debunching. “So we needed to address that issue and so we gave a figure on what is available in terms of financing to address the debunching issue. Once the debunching issue is addressed and teachers in this instance can be categorised and put into scales, then it will give you an opportunity to give what is allocated to salary increases in the respective categories… There is certainly nothing sinister or there is certainly no ulterior motive in awarding the ball park figure, because that did come up in the discussion. I just wanted to provide that clarity, because I believe that teachers and the Guyanese people need to understand what was proposed and why it was proposed,” Minister Henry said.
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