By Abigail Headley
As the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) and the Ministry of Education (MoE) met at the first hearing yesterday at the High Court of a case stemming from the teachers’ strike, Chief Education Officer (CEO) Saddam Hussain was pressed on his understanding of the term “salary increase” and to provide evidence that it was discussed during previous meetings.
GTU attorney Darren Wade led the cross-examination of Hussain, challenging the claims made in the MoE’s response affidavit that salary increases had been on the agenda. In the witness box, the CEO was asked, by Wade, whether or not the salary increases were made for all public servants and not just teachers, to which Hussain responded that he is not au fait with the goings-on at the Ministry of Finance which is responsible for salaries.
