…demanding arbitration before calling off strike

THE Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) has once again turned down the Government’s offer for conciliation talks just two days before the new school term reopens, referring to the efforts as “a waste of time”.

On Thursday, the Department of Labour invited the GTU to a meeting at 15:30hs at the Ministry of Social Protection. It was attended by GTU President Mark Lyte; GTU General Secretary Coretta McDonald and other GTU executives. The meeting was chaired by Chief Labour Officer (CLO) Charles Ogle while representing the Education Ministry’s team was Chief Education Officer (CEO) Marcel Hutson.

Coming out of the meeting, Lyte told the media that the GTU is disappointed that the Government had not called the meeting with the aim of consenting to arbitration but rather to continue efforts towards conciliation talks. “We arrived here today having received a short notice for the meeting and we are committed to being a part of the meeting should we be invited again. It was our hope that the demands of the union would have been laid on the table only to find out that the ministry wanted to continue conciliation talks after we would have indicated to them that we cannot trust the Chief Labour Officer and the Department of Labour to be part of this conciliation talks, since they would have compromised their position. And, so, the union’s position remains the same that unless it’s arbitration, we are not prepared to call the strike off,” Lyte said.

Lyte’s aforementioned lack of trust comes from the basis that Minister with responsibility for Labour, Keith Scott, along with the CLO and other labour officials all represented the Education Ministry at previous negotiation meetings. The GTU had, instead, made demands in a recent release suggesting that: “The extant issues be referred to an arbitration panel; the chairmanship shall be agreed upon before the resumption of work; the status quo ante shall be respected by everyone involved in this situation; there shall be no victimisation by either party; there shall be no loss of pay and seniority.”

The arbitration process would see the use of an independent party coming up with a solution to the dispute and both sides having to abide by whatever decision is made by the arbiter. With no signs of the Government agreeing to such on Thursday, GTU General Secretary Coretta McDonald added her voice to the matter. “I’m not sure why they called us for a meeting here today. Just to waste our time? But the thing is, our teachers are resolute and the struggle continues,” she said.

NEED FOR TALKS
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education in a release on Thursday maintained the need for the conciliatory process. “The Ministry of Social Protection, Department of Labour, should endeavor to exhaust all avenues within this stage in an effort to bring the matter to an amicable settlement,” the release stated in reference to Section 4 of the Labour Act Chapter 98:01.

The document stated further that the GTU’s strike should be called off, given the fact the conciliatory process has not yet concluded and the Department of Labour is yet to make a pronouncement on such.

In a separate release from the Ministry of Social Protection outlining what occurred during the meeting, it stated that the CLO also maintained that the conciliatory process must be exhausted before arbitration can take place.

“While the GTU maintained that it was not interested in conciliation but arbitration, the Ministry of Education submitted, in essence, that it was prepared to respect the grievance procedure and allow the conciliation process to continue. The CLO reiterated his earlier plea to the union to call off the strike so that the conciliation process can continue but that plea went unheeded,” the document stated.

In support of this call at the meeting, the Education Ministry tabled a Position Paper containing possible Terms of Resumption which the union did not find favour with. These terms included: that both parties be given the opportunity to continue the process of and benefit from conciliation; that all parties endeavor to work together during the process and that for the subsistence of the conciliator process and until the conclusion of the matter by way of amicable settlement, there will be no loss of pay and /or seniority.

The Terms of Resumption also went on to include that: throughout the process and its conclusion, the GTU will not contemplate, undertake or proceed with any strike action; there should be no form of victimization of either party; that public statements arising out of any process be accurate and shared between parties prior to public circulation and that prior to resumption of work, both parties agree to the chairmanship of the arbitration panel or tribunal should be the Ministry of the Social Protection, Department of Labour so decide.
However, the Social Protection Ministry’s release concluded: “In light of differing positions adopted by the parties, the conciliator reluctantly adjourned the meeting.”