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The conviction is certainly mine, that this installed government and their gang of dishonourable kleptocrats, have little to no respect for our hardworking teachers. And this conviction is evidenced in the fact, that after 75 days of facing the harsh elements, they are to offer our obviously undervalued teachers, a mere 8-10% salary increase.
Then compounding this blatant disrespect, is Bharrat Jagdeo, who would once again weaponise his press conference, to disparagingly accuse the Hon. Coretta McDonald. For his accusation, baseless and meritless, alleges that the Teachers Union General Secretary and MP, took instructions from People’s National Congress (PNC) Congress Place to torpedo the installed government offer.
However, if one were to inquire of Bharrat Jagdeo, the evidence underpinning his accusation, it would be most certain, as usually the case, that he will struggle to produce an iota. For its universally established practice, that an offer made to a union to resolve an industrial dispute, has to be voted and agreed on, by the majority members of the said union.
As a result, with this power vested in the members, would suggest a decision on an offer made, cannot be unilaterally decided on by the union General Secretary or President. Yet despite being cognisant of this fact, the installed People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Vice President has fallaciously and vexatiously argued a case of a PNC political interference, in this protracted industrial dispute, if not impasse.
But our teachers, who sacrificially faced the elements for some 75 days, couldn’t have contemplated this pittance salary increase, of only 8-10%. The fact is, this 8-10%, when corrected for inflation, taxes and other deductions, would leave our teachers in an economic position worse off. Moreover, our teachers in negotiating and compromising, forego their preferred, and mutually agreed on, multi-year proposal, 2019-2023.
As a matter of fact, and not to be minimised, is that our teachers made the difficult decision, without any assurances, to call off industrial actions, not once but twice. Therefore, when Jagdeo alludes to sober heads, he needs to recognise these conveniently forgotten facts, which evidence that our teachers are the only ones compromising, even as they tirelessly act in good faith.
Now, having acted in good faith throughout this arduous dispute, the teachers are understandably astounded that the Union President, Dr. Mark Lyte, would unilaterally sign on to the installed government’s 8-10% offer. Then having unilaterally signed on to the pittance offer, Dr. Mark Lyte argument unmistakably echoed that of the installed government, on the teachers’ non-salary benefits.
But the reality is, many of these non-salary benefits, Phd qualification et al, are above the pay grades of a significant percentage of the teachers. As a result, these non-salary benefits while looking good on paper, aren’t across the board, being inconsequential to many of our teachers. Moreover, these non-salary benefits, scholarships, housing et al, would require the installed government to act in good faith, an attribute they failed to demonstrate throughout this protracted industrial dispute.
So, having reflected on the unilateral actions of Dr. Mark Lyte, it could be easily misconstrued, if not irrefutably concluded, that his actions represent nothing short of a cut-throat betrayal. For the reality is, our teachers sacrificially faced the harsh elements, abundance of rain and hellish sun, in anticipation that the union will act in their best interest. But now they are forced to confront this reality, the Union President acted in what could only be characterised as deceptively calculating, even as he disregarded their concerns.
Moreover, not only did Dr. Mark Lyte acted contradictory to the wishes of a significant percentage of the membership, but also acted despite objections from a significant section of the General Council. And it’s for these reasons, with a union facing obvious division, we come to the unquestionable conclusion that PPP has achieved their ultimate goal of, divide and conquer.
