Delegates and dignitaries who turned up for the Third Annual Energy Conference at the Marriott Hotel in Kingston yesterday were greeted by striking teachers who are now into their eleventh day of protest action demanding livable wages and salaries.
The teachers moved their protest to Water Street in front of the lighthouse in anticipation of the Conference. In addition to teachers, protesters also comprised children and supporters. As the dignitaries passed, some of the chants that could be heard included: “Pay we, we money and we gon move from here”, “We don’t want no petty cash from the oil funds”, “When Ali wasn’t president, he knows what we should get, but now he acting president it seems like he forget.” Also visible were ranks of the Guyana Police Force [GPF] who took up their positions to prevent the protestors from going beyond the police barricades. As the crowd grew, so did the number of ranks.
President of the GTU, Mark Lyte, who was on site with the striking teachers, told Stabroek News that teachers around the country were feeling hurt because the government is yet to show any interest in their well-being. Lyte said it is disrespectful to have educators on the street for eleven days demanding salary increases. He underlined that that there has been no communication from government to teachers and by extension the union.
“To have teachers out here for the eleventh day is a sad reality, the level of disrespect for those of us in the profession, who are asking simply for a salary increase for the last three plus years and here is where we have to be for the eleventh day and the government hasn’t even reached out to the educators of this country”, he lamented.
The union had requested that government reach out to them formally but no correspondence has been received thus far. Lyte added that it is sad to know that students have not attended school for the last two weeks and the government remains apparently unconcerned about how that will impact the students. The strike and picketing will continue, Lyte said, and by extension, other forms of industrial actions until the union is engaged. According to Lyte, it is a breach of the constitution to not have collective bargaining and as a result the court will be a form of recourse.
“If they [the teachers] have a union and this is the treatment they are getting, then if they didn’t have a union then what will become of all our teachers?” he asked. “They will have no voice.” Attempts to weaken the union is basically saying to the teachers that they should not be represented and therefore they will expose the teachers to harsher treatments. According to the GTU President, the actions of the government demonstrates rejection of the children and teachers.
The GTU President said the union received a letter of support from Education International, a global body that represents over 32 million educators in 178 countries. Lyte also informed Stabroek News that the international community has been monitoring the strike action as was indicated in the letter.
“What borders on a country not having any credibility? The government boasts to the ILO that they have met with 18 unions and they signed off on 15 collective bargaining agreements. They reported [in 2022] that they signed off on 15 but GTU is not one of those bodies and I’m sure there are several others,” Lyte emphasised. General Secretary of the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), Lincoln Lewis, who was also present on the picket line, said collective bargaining has always been part of trade union governance in the country since 1905 following challenges from the merchant class and crown. The governor, chamber and merchant class met with Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow in 1905 and as a result collective bargaining has since been a part of Guyana’s governance system to the point where it has been made law.
Lewis explained that the constitution speaks of collective bargaining as well as the law of Trade Union Recognition (23:1) where a union in existence receives a certificate of recognition. Furthermore, Lewis stated that most children of government officials attend private schools while the lower-class people are neglected since the public education system is currently affected by the strike. “There is a principle that says, nothing is agreed upon until all is agreed upon. So even if they want to argue at any time that GTU agreed to something sometime back and that thing is in the proposal, they don’t understand that the GTU – since they have not agreed to the other things – can pull everything off the table. It’s a package you’re talking about, it’s not a single issue. Collective bargaining involves a package. When there is a package there, we negotiate and when we agree on all of them then we can sign off”, he said.
Linden
“6.5 is joke, we tired being broke” was among the many chants heard as Linden teachers took to the streets for the eleventh day in the mining town. The crowd passed through many streets and sang gospel songs as their strike action continued to grow. A live stream posted on Vanessa Kissoon’s Facebook’s page on Monday showed children, parents and teachers protesting. The protest was staged in front of the Shell Gas Station where chants were accompanied with the beating of buckets and bowls. Linden Mayor Sharma Solomon engaged the teachers at the protest and declared, “No victory, no surrender”. Solomon said the struggles teachers face are not isolated but affect all Guyanese.
He added that this is the opportune time for the government to demonstrate that as a model employer, they will meet with the union to discuss collective bargaining. Solomon said if the government fails to understand the fundamentals of the constitution in Article 13, which states that employees must be involved in every decision that is impactful, then they are not worthy of such position. While teachers continue to stand in solidarity and demand better treatment from the Ministry of Education, children continue to be affected by their actions, Solomon emphasised.
