PNCR supports teachers’ rejection of salary offer; GTU President prepares to announce details of package

Last Updated on Saturday, 17 August 2024, 11:20 by Writer

President of the Guyana Teachers’ Union, Dr Mark Lyte.

Hours before President of the Guyana Teachers’ Uni0n, Dr Mark Lyte is due to give a breakdown of government’s offer to teachers after four rounds of talks, the main opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) on Friday said it supports the union and all teachers in rejecting government’s “insulting” proposal.

Dr Lyte is scheduled to provide the breakdown on Saturday morning at 10:30 on the GTU’s Facebook page.

The PNCR’s position came one day after GTU General Secretary, Coretta McDonald told Demerara Waves Online News that feedback so far from cluster meetings indicated that teachers were demanding no less than 29.6% for 2024.

While she had said that feedback from the clusters would be used to amend General Council’s acceptance of the multi-year offer of 10% for 2024, 8% for 2025 and 9% for 2026, there are very strong indications that General Council’s decision could not be changed so easily. “The General Council’s decision is usually binding in the absence of a conference,” a long-serving union member, who is familiar with the union’s rules, told Demerara Waves Online News.

The GTU and the Ministry of Education were due to sign the multi-year agreement this week, but Ms McDonald led a delegation to the ministry informing officials of the union’s decision to refuse the government’s multi-year offer.

The PNCR also discarded Guyana’s Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo’s assertion that Ms McDonald, a member of that party, deliberately derailed the agreement in principle between the Education Ministry and the GTU.

Mr Jagdeo had said the proposal, if accepted, would see teachers earning an additional GY$12 billion due to salary scale adjustments, percentage salary increases, and a hike in allowances for qualifications and interior/remote locations.

“Jagdeo’s claim that the union’s rejection results from GTU General Secretary Coretta McDonald’s attempts to derail the union politically is politically hypocritical and comical. It is the same Jagdeo in 2018 who, as opposition leader, stated that teachers should be given 40% – 50% salary increases for the year.

Now that the PPP is in government, with access to vast oil resources, its hypocrisy is on full display in its treatment of the nation’s teachers
with its meaningless proposals of 8% – 10% salary increases,” the PNCR said.

Citing skyrocketed cost of living beyond what a mere 10% could compensate, the PNCR said the GTU’s counter-offer is reasonable and affordable.

The PNCR, as the next government, promised that teachers would receive retroactive compensation.