The Alliance For Change (AFC) has strongly condemned Government’s announcement that it will no longer act as an agent and deduct union fees from wages and salaries of teachers who are members of the Guyana Teachers Union. The AFC said this decision is not only deliberate but a vindictive response to the teachers strike currently underway which the Government considers illegal.
The party in a statement said it is alarmed at government’s failure to uphold the right to legitimate protest, the individual’s right to strike and has concluded these actions all signal the Death of Democracy in People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Guyana. The government is not interested Collective Bargaining and in finding a meaningful solution to the concern raised by teachers through their union over the last four years.
The government has failed to provide evidence of its allegation the strike is illegal. The public has reacted to the allegation which some said is bullyism and attempt to deprive the nation’s teachers what is rightfully theirs. The Constitution of Guyana (Article 147) protects the right to strike. The teachers informed the government the of their intent to strike well in advance. Teachers on the protest said they have not left their ward (children) unattended and prepared lesson/assignments for them to work on it. Teacher said while they do their professional work it is only fair they be properly compensated.
The nationwide strike has strike has entered in fourth day with more teachers coming out.
AFC in pointing government’s disparity in treatment of workers and efforts at demonizing the public school teachers blasted the government for casting the protest as “political” given that the secretary of the Guyana Teachers Union is a Member of Parliament (MP) on the opposition side.
The party reminded the government of its convenient lapse in memory that the President of the Guyana Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU) has always been a PPP MP and the late Komal Chand served for 32 years in the position, and now current President Seepaul Narine as a MP
Digging into the history of industrial actions and tolerance by the PPP government for some who take strike action, the AFC recalled GAWU staged the most strikes in Guyana over the last 40 years, at least 10 strikes per year, and that union was never threatened with having their union dues withheld and the hundreds of GAWU strikes were never deemed political by the PPP.
The AFC has made clear its support for workers’ right, unequivocally stated that all workers deserve representation, and teachers must earn livable wage. According to the party, Guyana can afford to pay the teachers from the G$ 1.6 billion per day earning from oil production.
