Teachers demanding 29.6% for 2024 – GTU General Secretary; Jagdeo says McDonald politically ‘derailed’ 10%

Last Updated on Friday, 16 August 2024, 8:20 by Writer

After ditching government’s offer to increase teachers’ salaries by 10% in 2024, the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) said educators are now demanding nothing less than 29.6% for this year, General Secretary Coretta McDonald said Thursday.

“We’ve met with five clusters so far and those teachers have refused that as well and they are saying that they are not prepared for anything other than three-quarters of what we’re asking,” she told Demerara Waves Online News. The GTU had proposed a 39.5% increase for 2024 and 30% for 2025 to 2026, but government’s counter offer is 10% for 2024, 8% for 2025 and 9% for 2026.

Guyana’s Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday told a news conference that government’s 10% pay offer would amount to GY$4 billion and GY$12 billion cumulatively over the three years, without adding salary scale adjustments and allowances based on locations and qualifications. Already, he said government’s teachers’ annual salary bill is almost GY$40 billion.

She said government has moved the offer from 9% to 10% and “it’s an offer that the union has refused” at the table when union negotiators met with their counterparts on Thursday to communicate their rejection of the 9% for 2024.

The GTU, she said, asked Ministry of Education representatives to meet with their principals to review the 10% compared to the union’s demand. Ms McDonald said the union was expected to receive communication from the Education Ministry on whether the two sides would meet next Wednesday or Thursday.

Asked whether the Education Ministry’s 9% had been ratified by the GTU’s General Council, Ms McDonald said that decision-making body “made a premature decision” and at that point realised that they needed to consult with the “wider membership before we make any decision as regards to accepting a percentage offer.” She acknowledged that the GTU’s General Council is the highest decision-making body between conferences but “don’t forget, our membership is the highest decision-making body and so that is why we are consulting with our members at this time.” She said the cluster meetings amount to a sufficient consultative mechanism that would take into consideration the General Council’s discussions. “What will happen is that coming out of the membership, we are going to now have to look at the decisions that were made at the General Council meeting and there most likely would be amendments that would be made,” she added.

The GTU President Dr Mark Lyte on Sunday said, one day before the two sides were due to sign the multi-year agreement, General Council decisions are “usually binding” but the General Secretary denied that there was a dispute with him. She said reports of a dispute between herself and Dr Lyte were “absolutely false” and all General Council members vote freely on issues after deliberations.

The General Secretary said teachers were not merely interested in the percentage but in the dollar value after tax, but Vice President Jagdeo on Friday expressed disappointment in the union’s stance, saying that that bargaining agent was being allegedly manipulated by the opposition through Ms McDonald. “We said we’re approaching this in a different manner. We want to work collaboratively with the union. I think that many of the sober heads, the sensible heads in the union see a great attempt to address the concerns of the teachers. We couldn’t go back in the past but we are making a dedicated effort to do this and they agreed to the package. Coretta McDonald wants to derail this for political reasons once again,” he said.

The GTU earlier this year staged a strike totalling approximately 70 days to demand collective bargaining for salaries and other financial matters. The High Court also ruled that the strike was justified because the government had repeatedly refused to negotiate increased salaries with the union. Government has appealed that decision.