By Mark DaCosta- Yesterday a heated press conference was held at the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) headquarters on Woodford Avenue, laying bare internal conflicts that have shaken the union to its core. The event, hosted by GTU General Secretary Coretta McDonald, with senior union officers Vanessa Kissoon and Joseph Sergio by her side, exposed what some members are calling a betrayal of teachers by the union’s president, Dr. Mark Lyte.
Earlier that day, Lyte convened a last-minute meeting at the Ministry of Education (MoE) between GTU representatives and MoE officials. According to McDonald, members of the GTU negotiating team were only informed of the meeting at 6 a.m for a 10 am start. The meeting was expected to update the team on the status of ongoing negotiations with the government, which have been the subject of intense discussions and even court action over the past few months.
However, as McDonald revealed, the atmosphere quickly turned tense when Lyte surprisingly announced that he intended to call for a vote on a government offer that included a 10 percent salary increase for 2024, with additional increments of 8 percent and 9 percent in the following two years. This proposal also included several non-salary benefits such as duty-free concessions, housing support, and scholarships. McDonald said that almost everyone was caught by surprise.
McDonald disclosed that Lyte produced a pre-prepared document during the meeting, which had spaces for his signature and that of GTU Second Vice President Julian Cambridge. The document, which confirmed the union’s acceptance of the government’s offer, left no place for the signatures of the General Secretary or the First Vice President, despite their presence at the meeting. Lyte and Cambridge signed the document, much to the shock and anger of other negotiating team members, several of whom stormed out in protest.
Sergio, visibly upset, expressed that he felt betrayed and emotionally conflicted by the turn of events. McDonald and Kissoon echoed these sentiments, with Kissoon bluntly accusing Lyte of “selling out” the teachers for his own benefit, rather than acting in their best interests. McDonald further asserted that Lyte’s actions were part of a pattern of behaviour suggesting that he never truly had the interests of the nation’s teachers at heart.
The press conference was marked by sharp criticism of Lyte’s actions, with one person going so far as to invoke the Biblical reference of “30 pieces of silver” to describe the alleged betrayal. She asserted that Lyte and his small cohort of supporters within the negotiating team had colluded with the PPP government, thus undermining the trust and integrity of the union.
McDonald also highlighted the difficulties faced by teachers, particularly those in Guyana’s hinterland regions, where the cost of living has surged due to inflation and high transportation costs. This, she argued, made the 10 percent increase inadequate to meet the growing financial demands on educators.
Following the meeting, a press release, purportedly from the GTU, was circulated, claiming that an agreement had been reached between the union and the Ministry of Education. The statement said, “The Guyana Teachers’ Union and the Ministry of Education have reached an agreement on salaries and non-salaries benefits for teachers covering the period 2024-2026. This agreement comes after months of talks between the two sides.”
McDonald concluded the press conference by stating that the GTU’s leadership, particularly those in opposition to Lyte’s actions, would consult with teachers across the country to explore ways to retract the document signed by Lyte. She assured the union’s members and the public that they would continue to advocate for better conditions for teachers, despite the apparent setback.
This conflict comes on the heels of a 75-day strike that saw public school teachers across Guyana demanding fair wages/salary and improved working conditions. The strike, marked by two distinct phases of walkouts, court-ordered mediation, and numerous rounds of negotiations, had only recently been suspended in the hope of reaching a mutually acceptable resolution. The events of August 21, however, have cast a shadow over these efforts, raising questions about the future direction of the GTU and the struggle for teachers’ rights in our nation.
