By Abigail Headley
The GTU yesterday announced the collapse of talks with the Ministry of Education (MoE) while the latter accused the union of walking out again on the collective bargaining process.
Following four weeks of strike action which ended after court-appointed mediation, the way ahead yesterday was not immediately clear but the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) is adamant that it will stay the course.
Talks stalemated over the years for negotiations – the union demanding 2019 to 2023 while the government is only prepared to consider 2024 onwards.
At a hurriedly called press conference yesterday morning, GTU President Mark Lyte expressed frustration with the MoE’s refusal to negotiate on salaries for the period of 2019-2023. The year 2019 marked the end of the last negotiated agreement.
