GTU, Ministry of Education discussed salaries- Chief Education Officer

Last Updated on Sunday, 3 March 2024, 9:42 by Denis Chabrol

Left to right: Chief Education Officer Saddam Hussein, Attorney General Anil Nandlall and GTU President Mark Lyte.

The Ministry of Education’s Chief Education Officer, Saddam Hussain has denied persistent claims by the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) that salaries were never discussed during months of bilateral talks between the two parties, prompting an almost one-month old teachers strike.

Contrary to what the Applicant has alleged that teachers’ salaries were not the subject of discussions, at the verv meeting of the 31st of January 2024, five (5) of the eleven (11) agenda items of that meeting related to salaries/ remuneration and the issue was thoroughly discussed with an agreement to resume the said discussion at the next meeting fixed for 21st February 2024,” he said in court papers filed on March 1, 2024 and released on Sunday by the Attorney General’s Chambers.

However, the exhibit referred to by the Chief Education Officer does not mention salaries/remuneration as an agenda item.

The union has been demanding collective bargaining for its proposed 25 percent salary increase for 2019 and 20 percent for 2020 to 2023 for all categories of teachers. President Irfaan Ali had met with a select group of teachers at State House last year before announcing several financial benefits.

A spreadsheet submitted by the Chief Education Officer to accompany his affidavit, he said teachers received a 7 percent salary increase in 2021, 8 percent in 2022 and 6.5 percent in 2023. Those retroactive salary increases were announced by government unilaterally rather than negotiated close to the end of each year.

In an affidavit in response to the GTU’s, Mr Hussain referred to “numerous interventions” which included “corrected salaries” of more than 8,000 teachers with effect September 2020 at a cost of GY$700 million; placed teachers with a degree to the maximum of their respective scales so that there was no need for debunching in keeping with a 2011 Memorandum of Agreement.

The Chief Education Officer said in response to the GTU’s demand that teachers performing duties and travel for teaching practice organised by the Cyril Potter College of Education be given GY$10,000 monthly allowance, that college has since paid all travelling allowance for such duties

Instead of the union’s demand that headteachers be granted a monthly travelling allowance and a fixed GY$10,000 allowance to conduct business on behalf of their schools, Mr Hussain said the Guyana government refunds teachers their travelling expenses when they travel to conduct school business.

GTU requested for increased monthly remuneration for teachers who improved their qualifications as follows: increase of GY$7000 for
management education leaders’ certificates; GY$10,000 to special needs teachers; $10,000 to those with post-graduate diplomas in education; GY$15,000 to those with an advance graduate diploma; GY$25,000 to those with a Master’s Degree; and GY$35,000 or more to those with Doctoral Degrees. Mr Hussain said in response, the Guyana government increased remuneration by: GY$10,000 for teachers with a Bachelor’s Degree; GY$20,000 for teachers with a Master’s Degree; GY$30,000 for teachers with a Doctorate; GY$6,000 for teachers with a Post Graduate Diploma; and GY$10,000 for Secondary teachers monthly.

While the GTU has requested an annual clothing allowance of GY$30,000,  the Chief Education Officer said that allowance remains at $GY8,000 annually.

The Chief Education Officer sought to assure the High Court that the Ministry of Education was continuing efforts to engage the GTU “faithfully in order to address all reasonable requests and demands” by that bargaining agent “within the realms of the Government’s affordability and fiscal space.”

Mr Hussain said he was taken by surprise when the GTU called the strike on February 5, 2024 because that union was still meeting with the Ministry of Education team “assigned to address its demands under the 2019-2023 Multi-Year Proposal.”

“Indeed, all of the aforementioned interventions and measures by the Government of Guyana are clear indicators of the bona ffus wit:. which the Government of Guyana conducted its efforts with the Applicant, as it continues to work along with the Applicant to address its demands as set out in the 2019-2023 Multi-Year Proposal,” he said.

He admitted that the strike, which he deemed “unlawful” was causing “severe disruptions to the teaching learning process” at a time when the National Grade Six Assessment and Caribbean Secondary Examination Council examinations were fast approaching.