Retroactive increase demanded by GTU not feasible, unfair to others – Guyana Chronicle

–VP Jagdeo says, outlines government’s willingness to sign multi-year agreement beginning 2024

 

WITH the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) once again abandoning talks with the Ministry of Education, Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has said that its proposals cannot be accommodated within the fiscal framework.

During a press conference at Office of the President on Thursday, Dr. Jagdeo said that despite having some misgivings about the court-ordered mediation, especially since it involved public policy, the government still agreed to talks with the GTU.

“There is a prohibition when there’s public policy involved, that the court should really not order mediation. In fact, in the rules, it says that explicitly, and wages and salaries are public policy matters. Two, we believe that there are established grievance or dispute resolution mechanisms outlined in the labour law and in contracts, therefore, the court should yield to those,” he said, adding: “Nevertheless, out of respect for the court, we participated in the mediation exercise, because we would like to see an end to this matter, too. We want our teachers back in the classroom; we want our children to be taught, but we want to ensure that we also preserve the finances of this country in a manner that don’t harm us in the future.”

Additionally, addressing the proposals requested by the union, despite the known Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) conditions, he said this is not sustainable in the budget.

The Vice-President said: “What the union wants cannot be accommodated by the fiscal framework. They want us to sign a multi-year agreement retroactively; a multi-year agreement retroactive to 2019.

“So, if you reopen that for teachers, you have to, out of fairness; you have to ensure that every other category would get the same retroactive increase.”

The Vice-President said that although the government cannot provide a retroactive increase, they are prepared to sign a three-year agreement, beginning from 2024.

With that being said, the Union was asked to prepare a multi-year agreement within this framework, in order to start negotiations. However, according to the Vice-President, GTU had “walked out.”

Although schools were closed in March 2020, and teachers were away from the classrooms owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the GTU, after resuming negotiations with the Education Ministry, called for a 20 per cent wage hike from March 2020-2022.

The Union proposed an across-the-board increase of 20 per cent for 2019, and 25 per cent each for every other year, despite this being the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, when a majority of teachers were not in classrooms. Reports show that in 2018, the union agreed to less.

Teachers got 12 per cent (junior), and eight per cent (senior) retroactive increases for 2016, and an eight per cent retroactive increase for 2018.

Despite this, during a Facebook Live on Thursday, GTU President Mark Lyte called on the government to negotiate the multi-year agreement from 2019-2023, or else they will resume strike action.

“I am issuing here a verbal ultimatum that within the next few hours, if the government does not indicate their willingness to come to the table to discuss 2019 – 2023, or to negotiate around that period, there will be a resumption of a massive industrial action,” Lyte said.

Lyte, during the broadcast, contradicted himself, since he previously agreed that the court should decide.

ABANDONING TALKS
The Education Ministry on Tuesday met with representatives of the GTU in the ministry’s boardroom to continue the collective bargaining process, which was ongoing, but had ended abruptly with the strike action in February, and which began again last week pursuant to a mediation agreement.

The MoE was represented by its Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Shannielle Hoosein-Outar; Chief Education Officer Mr. Saddam Hussain; Deputy Chief Education Officer- AHED, Mr. Marti DeSouza; Deputy Chief Education Officer, Admin, Ms. Tiffany Harvey; the Ministry’s Human Resource Manager Ms. Jacqueline Simon; and Mr. Kerwin Jacobs, Senior Education Officer.

The GTU was represented by GTU President, Dr. Mark Lyte; GTU General Secretary Ms Coretta McDonald; Ms Mariska Williams, Mr. Heathcliff Peters, Ms. Sumanta Alleyne, Mr. Collis Nicholson, Ms. Donnette D’Andrade, Mr. Rabindrauth Boodram, and Mr. Colin Bynoe, along with three General Council members, Mr. Deoraj Nauth, Mr. Sergio Joseph, and Ms. Vanessa Kissoon.

The meeting was chaired by Mrs. Hoosein-Outar, who upheld the government’s position that discussions surrounding salary increases should be from 2024 onwards.

According to the Education Ministry, she explained that increases for the prior years would have financial implications, and that the 2024 budget does not have the fiscal space to accommodate the retroactive payment of salaries for teachers during the period 2019 – 2023.

Mrs. Hoosein-Outar asked the Union’s representatives to submit to the ministry a proposal which would capture their request for a multiyear agreement commencing 2024.

Tuesday’s meeting reached an impasse after the GTU indicated that they are interested in discussing only salaries, particularly between the period 2019 and 2023, and nothing else.

The GTU maintained its determination to only discuss salary matters in relation to the prior years and refused to address the other 25 matters which were identified by both the Ministry of Education and the union for discussion.

This resulted in the representatives of the union abandoning the process and walking out of the meeting.

“It should be noted that during the prior years, teachers have benefited from salary increases, salary adjustments that reflect teachers’ qualifications and incorrect calculations of salaries. Additionally, there were initiatives which were rolled out to the benefit of teachers across the country and which added to their disposable income as well as their welfare,” the Education Ministry said.

The Ministry of Education reiterated its commitment to dialogue with the Guyana Teachers’ Union; this is a process which has been ongoing and which has produced several noteworthy results that will benefit teachers, children, and the system as a whole.