Dear Editor,
Society must stand in solidarity with the teachers union to protect our nation’s children. It pleases my eyes to see the teachers of Guyana standing up in various regions as a united force to get the PPP Government to honour its obligations to ensure a living wage/salary and decent working conditions. This must be a rallying call to all workers throughout the length and breadth of Guyana.
Whereas the government has already sought to condemn and criminalise the protest, the society needs to be aware that strike action is not illegal. Article 147 (2) of the Constitution of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana expressly states: “Except with his or her own consent no person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of his or her freedom to strike.” Government, instead of speaking with Union leaders, has sought to confront the legitimate action as an illegal action which is misleading the public and strikers. It must be seen as an effort to create fear and disunity in the midst.
What the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has also done, by deeming the strike illegal, is to demonise and criminalise striking workers, therefore elevating a simple, bonafide workers’ protest where the workers must not be left alone but have the full embrace of society. The Laws of Guyana protect strikes and the trade unions’ right to protect their members. What any caring government would seek to do is meet the union and arrive at an agreement. It is time the PPP learn that threats and executive bullyism will not always work and a time will come when workers will even resist that. No amount of threats will stem the tide of resistance.
I stand in solidarity with the Guyana Teachers Union and call on parents, communities, and wider society to give support to our teachers. These are the people who mould our most valuable resource – our children. After the family, comes the teachers in the process of socialisation and society must not allow politics to cause us to ignore their efforts to have legitimate redress, using the protection guaranteed by Labour laws, that is, the trade union movement. It is not unknown to the people of this country that the current PPP leadership is anti-labour for unions they feel cannot be controlled by them.
We see the disparity in treatment between the unions affiliated to the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) and those in the Federation of Independent Trades Union of Guyana (FITUG). It is time we allow the Laws of Guyana to work and respect the rights of all, regardless of political persuasion. In oil rich Guyana, Government’s inability to meet the demands of teachers does not exist in reality. Only in the hearts and minds of the PPP who are bent on creating further divisions in society with great disparity between the haves and have-nots, and the working class people.
I invite all Guyanese, especially those who have children in the public schools and rely on teachers to teach them, to come out and support the teachers. Our children, your children are at risk. We are at risk of a substandard education with our teachers migrating, looking for betterment. The school system is already suffering from migration and teachers having to seek other means to subsidise their income. There is no question the PPP has brought this noble profession and these workers almost to their knees.
Sincerely,
Roysdale Forde
