WPA tells Govt get off teachers’ back;  warns of electoral consequences

The Working People’s Alliance (WPA) has strongly condemned the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government’s decision to appeal the Court of Appeal’s recent ruling in favour of the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU). Last week, the government threatened to challenge the Court of Appeal’s 21^st January ruling, which upheld Justice Sandil Kissoon’s 19^th April 2024 decision that teachers have a constitutional right to collective bargaining. The ruling also directed the government to resume the deduction of union dues from teachers’ salaries and remit them to the GTU.

The WPA has blasted the government’s actions, calling them an attack on the rights of public school teachers. The party described the government’s attempt to appeal the ruling as “spiteful” and a violation of industrial relations best practices.

In a statement, the WPA argued that the government’s initial decision to discontinue the deduction of union dues was an unjust move against a union simply fulfilling its duty to advocate for better wages on behalf of its members.

The government’s decision to stop the deductions was nothing short of an act of retaliation against the union, whose only ‘crime’ was to heed the call of its members and demand better pay, the WPA stated. “Even  after the union  in the spirit of compromise ended the strike and  dropped most of its initial demands , the government  has continued its big stick agenda.”

The WPA also took aim at Attorney General Anil Nandlall, who suggested that it was not the government’s responsibility to collect union dues. The WPA fired back with a series of questions questioning the government’s stance: “What danger does the GTU pose in asking the government to deduct union dues from teachers’ salaries? Is the GTU an alien entity?  Are teachers not contributors to the national purse and as such are entitled to  request government services?  Does collecting union dues put undue burden on the government?  Has the government stopped deducting dues for all unions? Is the government fighting the GTU for ethnic reasons?”

The party expressed concern that the government’s real goal is to weaken the GTU, using the courts to further its agenda. The WPA said it can only conclude that the government’s ultimate intention is to weaken the GTU, and  is using the court to assist in its rampage. The party said it has seen the PPP’s script before.

The WPA further warned the PPP/C that their continued aggression towards the GTU and other unions could have serious political consequences. “The government is not the property of the PPP; it is the government of all Guyanese, regardless of ethnicity or political affiliation,” the WPA asserted. The party made it clear that if the government persists with its appeal, it will make this issue a central focus of its election campaign, both as an assault on workers’ rights and as an attack on specific ethnic groups, particularly African Guyanese.

“This matter is a WPA line in the sand,” the party stated. “You cannot ask African Guyanese for their votes while simultaneously seeking to crush organisations they belong to.”

The WPA issued a warning to the government to “get off the back” of the GTU and other trade unions. The party emphasised that the rights of workers and unions should be respected, and any attempts to undermine those rights would be met with fierce opposition, particularly as the 2025 elections draw closer.