Teachers’ Union welcomes High Court’s interim orders against government

Last Updated on Thursday, 22 February 2024, 19:12 by Denis Chabrol

The Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) on Thursday said the High Court issued orders that for the time prevents government from cutting the salaries of striking teachers and and stopping the automatic deduction of union membership dues.

“Teachers, who have been threatened that your salaries will be cut; the judge has issued a ruling,” GTU President, Dr Mark Lyte said on a Facebook Live. As a result, he said government would now have to “add back to the system the dues that they did not deduct” and the instruction to cut salaries has to be rescinded.

“The law has spoken,” he said.

The High Court granted the orders on Day-14 of the teachers’ strike ahead of the full hearing and determination of the substantive matters from March 20, 2024.

He said several other cases would be filed to ensure that no teacher is victimised or suffers. The GTU is represented by Attorney-at-Law Darren Wade.

The GTU called the strike on February 5, 2024 to force government to go to the table to negotiate for increased salaries and allowances in a proposed multi-year agreement.  Dr Lyte restated that the GTU was ready to negotiate terms of resumption of work and negotiate “salary increases” “with a time-line in mind” to end a three-year long wait for better salaries.

The Attorney General, Anil Nandlall had hoped that the High Court would have granted his application for 14 days to allow him to vigorously oppose the GTU’s application for conservatory orders pending the hearing and determination of the substantive case.

Dr Lyte said Justice Sandil Kissoon “ruled in our favour” for an urgent hearing because the State wants to challenge the union’s cases. “We will continue to press our case without fear and favour,” he said.

He frowned on the way that government has responded to the strike over the past two weeks. He praised the teachers for having taken industrial action.

The GTU is proposing a 25 percent salary increase for 2019, and 20 percent for 2019 to 2023 and an additional performance-based incentive of 2 percent annually of the total teachers’ wage bill to eligible teachers during the period of the multi-year agreement. Further, the union wants a GY$5,000 emotional/ stress/risk allowance; a  monthly Internet allowance of GY$10,000; a GY$10,000 monthly allowance to teachers who use their own vehicles to perform official duties, and a fixed monthly allowance of GY$7,000 for headteachers/principals to conduct business on behalf of their institutions.