The Vice President of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo, has shown a blatant disregard for the plight of the nation’s teachers by urging them to ignore the call by their union to go on strike from Monday. The Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) has been demanding a fair and reasonable multi-year agreement that would address the issues of salary, allowances, working conditions, and professional development of teachers. The Government has failed to engage in meaningful negotiations with the union since 2020, and has instead imposed arbitrary salary increases and non-salary benefits that do not reflect the true value of teachers’ work.
Mr. Jagdeo has insulted the intelligence and dignity of teachers by claiming that their grievances are not real and that their strike action is political. He has also attacked the GTU General Secretary, Coretta Mc Donald, who is also a Member of Parliament for the opposition, accusing her of misleading the teachers for her own political agenda. This is a classic case of gaslighting, a form of psychological manipulation that seeks to make the victim doubt their own reality and feelings.
Mr. Jagdeo has also boasted about the Government’s investment in education, training, and teachers’ improvement, citing various initiatives and programs that he claims have improved the conditions of teachers in the country. However, these claims are not backed by any evidence or data, and do not address the core issues that the union has raised. For instance, he has mentioned that four thousand graduate teachers would move to the top of the scale, costing $1B more, but he has not explained how this would affect the majority of teachers who are not graduates, or how it would compare to the union’s proposal of a 25% salary increase for 2019, and 20% each year for the years 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Moreover, Mr. Jagdeo has ignored the fact that teachers are not only concerned about their salaries, but also about their allowances, working conditions, and professional development. Teachers have been facing challenges such as inadequate infrastructure, lack of resources, overcrowded classrooms, and exposure to health and safety risks, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers have also been denied opportunities for career advancement, recognition, and empowerment, as the Government has failed to implement a transparent and merit-based promotion system, a comprehensive teacher evaluation system, and a quality assurance mechanism for teacher education.
Teachers are the backbone of any society, as they shape the minds and futures of the next generation. They deserve respect, not gaslighting, from their leaders. They deserve fair and reasonable compensation, not arbitrary and imposed decisions, from their employers. They deserve solidarity, not division, from their colleagues and fellow citizens. The strike action by the GTU is not a political stunt, but a legitimate and necessary expression of teachers’ rights and demands. The Government should stop dismissing and denigrating the teachers, and start listening and negotiating with them in good faith.
