GEORGETOWN, Guyana - Guyana's government on Tuesday said with “immediate effect” it would stop the “deduction of union dues” for teachers as it continued to label a strike by them as illegal.
Teachers on strike outside the Ministry of EducationIn a statement the government said the strike called by the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) on Monday is unlawful and inimical to the welfare of students, teachers, and the public interest., adding “it is therefore excruciatingly clear that this strike is an expression of bad faith driven by interests other than the welfare and conditions of teachers”.
Moreover, the government is linking the industrial action to politics, noting that opposition legislators including the GTU general secretary, Coretta McDonald among those leading the strike.
The government, which currently acts as an agent for the GTU by deducting from the wages and salaries of teachers, the union dues and remitting to the union, said “in light of your aforesaid conduct the Government of Guyana can no longer provide this agency service”.
The February 6, 2024 letter sent to the GTU President Dr. Mark Lyte also cited the case of the Guyana Public Service Union v Nanda Gopaul where the late Chief Justice, lan Chang delivered a judgement that instructed that “in respect of the deduction of union dues in particular, the G.0.G was merely acting as the agent of the union for the purpose of withholding and remitting such dues to the union.”
“In the circumstances with immediate effect, the Government of Guyana shall cease to perform the functions of an agent of the Union and will no longer deduct union dues from the wages and salaries of teachers and remit same to the Union. We recommend you make alternative arrangements,” according to the letter signed by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Shannielle Hoosein-Outar .
But the GTU president said despite that attempt to weaken the union, the strike would continue indefinitely to force the Ministry of Education into negotiating increased salaries and allowances.
“It’s intended to do that because it’s tantamount to what is called union busting. It’s intent for workers not to have a representative voice or a body to represent them and imagine if the union collapses, it gives way for the government to do as they please to the teaching population of this country,” he said.
He also accused the ruling People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC) administration of pushing Guyana into a “full-blown dictatorial state.” reiterating that the strike would continue indefinitely.
“We’re in this for the long haul,” he added.
The government said the GTU represents an estimated 4,500 teachers, meaning that the GTU will now have to make arrangements to collect an estimated GUY$3.15 million (One Guyana dollar=US$0.004 cents) in union dues per month.
If all of the 13,652 teachers are unionised and pay their dues, the GTU should collect at least GY$9,556,400 per month.
The Ministry of Education has accused the GTU of using incendiary voice notes, text messages, phone calls and cyber bullying via social media to teachers who exercised their constitutional right not to participate in this unlawful strike.
It also accused the union of adopting “racist sentiments and ethnically divisive rhetoric have also permeated the actions of the GTU. This Government will never tolerate any attempt to divide of our people along racial lines”.
On Monday, Mc Donald, said “we submitted a proposal since 2020 and this is 2024. But what we’ve recognised they’ve been doing over the years is that they’ve been pulling from the conditions we’ve been asking for, tweaking them and my good friend (the Chief Education Officer) Saddam Hussain is putting out all kinds of things suggesting that the GTU is asking for 41 things and they’ve already been satisfied 21 or 27 things, something like that”.
Last year, the government ignored repeated calls for collective bargaining and instead engaged a cross-section of teachers to hear their grievances and requests.
Senior Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh in a statement last December announced an across the board salary increase of 6.5 per cent that will benefit over 54,000 public servants, teachers, members of the disciplined services and government pensioners and will place an additional GUY$7.5 billion (One GUY$=US0.004 cents)in disposable income annually in the hands of these employees.
