Dear Editor,
I applaud the authorities for the decision taken to grant duty-free concessions to teachers. This was an agreement reached with the Guyana Teachers’ Union when the previous PPP/C government was in office and several eligible teachers benefited from the concessions.
This is a step in the right direction which could help to incentivize teachers who are highly underpaid and who over the years have been subsidizing the education sector by working for salaries that are below the true value of their socially useful labour.
I think it is also time for the duty-free concession on motor vehicles to be extended to our nurses, many of whom are duty bound to work night shifts and who are prone to attacks by bandits as they await public transportation to and from work. While I agree that all nurses cannot reasonably be granted concessions, some criteria could be worked out between the government and the representative union as was done in the case of teachers.
As an interim measure, government should consider providing some form of transportation for those nurses in particular those who have to work the night shift.
Our teachers and nurses provide society with services that go way beyond their monetary remuneration. The government therefore has an obligation and a responsibility to ensure that their safety and well-being are adequately met.
Yours faithfully,
Hydar Ally
