Teachers are counting on their strength as a voting bloc in upcoming local government elections to convince the governing coalition that it must sign an acceptable wages and salary agreement with the union before the beginning of the new school year.
Despite the establishment by the APNU+AFC government of a high-profile bipartisan task force and a commitment that by December last year there would be a decision on salaries for teachers, six months have elapsed and the government is still to clearly indicate the way forward.
Coretta McDonald, General Secretary of the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU), told Stabroek News last week that even as teachers become impatient they have repeatedly told the union that with elections right around the corner “Government would not want to look bad so they’ll do something good for teachers.”
