A civil society grouping, that includes the trade unions, is calling on the Government to adopt a more dignified and legally defensible approach to resolving future industrial disputes. Speaking specifically to the just concluded public school teachers’ strike, the group in a release yesterday addressed a plethora of issues.
In a scorching critique, the group noted a concern with the strike was the callous and discriminatory way the negotiating processes were prolonged, uninfluenced by either the Judiciary or the principles of collective bargaining.
Teachers proceeded on strike on February 5, resulting from Government refusal to engage their union, the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU). The strike ended Friday, June 21. GTU in August 2020 submitted to the Irfaan Ali government a multi-year proposal for increase wages/salary and improved working condition. The Union said the same proposal was submitted every year but Government always found reasons not to engage in collective bargaining.
The High Court on April 19 ruled the teachers, represented by the GTU, have a right to collective bargaining, freedom to strike as outlined in Article 147 of the Constitution of Guyana. The Court also ruled the Government must continue deduction of union dues from the teachers’ salary and remit to the GTU. This remittance of dues is part of the Collective Labour Agreement, which under the Laws of Guyana is legal and binding. The government has since appealed the decisions.
Touching on the issue, the group noted Government’s refusal to accept the High Court verdict on the legitimacy of the strike and threats to appeal to the Caribbean Court of Justice were delaying tactics to drag things out that risked poisoning long-term relations between Ministry and union.
It was further noted the experience of the strike reflected Government’s indifference to the long- and short-term costs to teachers, students, families, the education system and entire society. The group warned
The group also flayed Government’s decision to give parents cash grants to go to private school rather than resolve the industrial dispute, calling it an assault on the public education in general, a form of corrupted power versus ‘the people’.
The signatories to the statement are the General Workers Union (GWU), Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA), Guyana Organisation of Indigenous People (GOIP), Guyana Teachers Union (GTU), Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), Red Thread, Policy Forum Guyana (PFG) and Transparency International Guyana Inc (TIGI).
With Terms of Resumption signed and the strike over, society will be watching on and gauging Government’s commitment to collective bargaining in the teaching sector.
The full statement follows:-
   CIVIL SOCIETY STATEMENT ON THE TEACHERS’ STRIKE
The following statement was discussed and signed prior to the end of the Teachers Strike. It has been amended to accommodate the ending of the strike on Friday June 21, but the issues discussed remain relevant.
This year marks 148 years since the signing of the Compulsory Education Bill which set the nation that would become Guyana on a path to almost universal literacy by the time of Independence. Our concern with the strike is with the callous and discriminatory manner in which negotiating processes were prolonged, uninfluenced by either the Judiciary or the principles of collective bargaining.
Prioritising dealing directly with teachers rather than their trade union does not bode well for the future of constitutional protections for collective bargaining agreements. Public opinion counted for very little.
The experience of the strike reflected an indifference to the long- and short-term costs to teachers, students, families, the education system and the society as a whole.
The Government’s refusal to accept the High Court verdict on the legitimacy of the strike along with threats to appeal to the Caribbean Court of Justice were delaying tactics to drag things out that risked poisoning long-term relations between Ministry and unions. Such delays, moreover, benefit from social media’s hollowing out of our capacity to focus on an issue for any length of time.
The proposal to pay the fees of students who enroll in private sector education insinuated an assault on public education in general, a form of corrupted power versus ‘the people’. The fundamental concern compelling our statement is to constrain Government coldness to human suffering when addressing political issues.
The following are some of the long-term lifestyle costs to the country of not negotiating in a principled manner:
- Students’ education is weakened permanently.
- Teachers are lost to the profession as interim jobs to make ends meet become permanent. Striking teachers made ends meet by driving taxi, fishing, construction, mining and giving extra lessons
- Ethnic divisions in the society were aggravated.
- Trolls invaded zoom meetings called to update teachers with filthy, pornographic taunting.
- Respect for the Judiciary was eroded by Government’s resistance to accept either its judgements or its advice.
- Sharp increase in rate of male teachers leaving the profession.
- At the last graduation of 1,709 teachers, as a whole only 233 were males.
- The strike graphically highlighted the uneven conditions affecting teachers and pupils in rural and urban area.
In addition to the above costs to the society, the long strike impacted what are known in the profession as ‘non-academic standards’. These standards include such things as class size, sanitary facilities, laboratories and sports facilities. Along with dilapidated structures compromises on these standards further eroding morale of teachers. Moreover, the strike graphically highlighted the uneven impact on teachers in rural and urban area.
The signatories of this Statement are calling on the Government to adopt a more dignified and legally defensible approach to resolving future industrial disputes. In the case of the education system to do so threatens to destroy an institution that shaped the current leaders of our society and for better or worse, will determine the future social capital of our Nation.
Signatories
General Workers Union (GWU)
Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA)
Guyana Organization of Indigenous People (GOIP)
Guyana Teachers Union (GTU)
Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC)
Red Thread
Policy Forum Guyana (PFG)
Transparency International Guyana Inc (TIGI)
June 22 2024
