The Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) has asked government for massive pay raises over the next five years, which union president Mark Lyte argues is needed to ensure that teachers are paid a “living wage.”
The proposed increases are so substantial that, if granted, a Trained Non-Graduate Teacher, who presently earns $84,921 per month, would see a rise in salary to $581,815 a month by 2020. Similarly, under the proposal, an untrained graduate would be earning $804,103 a month, while a trained graduate, who now earns $131,195, would be paid $898,849 a month. All of these represent a cumulative increase of 585% over the salaries presently being earned.
According to “Proposed memorandum of agreement entered into between the Ministry of Education and the GTU concerning terms and conditions of employment for teachers and teacher educators for the years 2016-2020,” which has been seen by
