GUYANA Teachers Union (GTU) General-Secretary Coretta McDonald said she is not motivated by politics but by the genuine welfare of teachers.

She offered the comments in light of a cartoon which appeared in the Kaieteur News suggesting that she is being influenced by the opposition on the teachers’ wages dispute
The cartoon shows GTU President Mark Lyte questioning McDonald’s intention to continue the teachers’ strike despite receiving “a good deal,” while McDonald was busy attending to the whispers of Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo.

In response, McDonald has admonished the public to “don’t be bothered” as she will continue to represent teachers despite attempts to discredit her intentions.
“The fact is that some people expect us to bury our heads in the sand, but I will say to persons, I will continue to be Coretta McDonald. I am firmly grounded in trade union principles, trade union and moral principles and I will stand by those regardless of. I stood then and I will stand now,” she stated.

The GTU general-secretary went on to make known her confusion on why her efforts “for better conditions and better salaries” were being aligned to politics and more so, being aligned to a political party should be a bad thing.

“Even if I’m aligned to a political party, what’s wrong with that? The constitution gives us the right to associate and to be a part of so, I don’t’ know why [there is] all of this big fuss and fret and all this big glamour,” she contended.

McDonald further stated that although President David Granger had stepped in to bring about a resolution to then ongoing deadlock between the Ministry of Education and the GTU, this did not mean that his offer was beyond rejection.

“The fact here is that our members would have given us a mandate and if we fail to carry out that mandate, then we are not worth our salt,” she said, adding: “Regardless of how you feel and regardless of what personal attack persons might want to throw at me, that will not move me.”