THE strategy employed by Richard Ishmael Secondary School teacher Sheldon Williams on Tuesday to protest the treatment meted out to him by the Ministry of Education has yielded results. Within a few hours of dismounting from the roof, the aggrieved man, who had stoutly declared his intention not to come down unless Chief Education Officer Olato Sam had spoken with him and given clear directions and instructions about his withheld payment, got the desired response.

Initially, the protester, while perched, was told that the CEO was sick and indisposed; but this prompted him to become even more resolute, and he insisted he was not going to compromise.
Faced with that challenge, the CEO availed himself, and Williams came down from the roof.

Sam convened an emergency meeting with Williams, other top ranking Education Ministry officials, and representatives of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) in an office at the Richard Ishmael School, and documents were drawn up and signed there, paving the way for the teacher to receive his delayed pay and approval of his denied leave.
Williams was immediately reinstated, and will continue on the job for the remainder of the term, which ends tomorrow; and the no-pay leave that he did not enjoy previously is to take effect from the new school term in April.

Eventually, Williams left the school compound greatly relieved, and was back in class yesterday.                                                 

Although Sam claimed not to have been aware of the problem before, he expressed concern, and said there are times when senior officials need to address teachers’ concerns in a timelier manner. He also expressed the view that there could have been other ways of resolving the issue, rather than it being taken to the extreme.

Williams said he was protesting the non-payment of his salary since the end of January. He said that, towards the end of last year, he took sick with malaria, and proceeded on leave which was certified by a physician. He submitted his medical certificate and resumed duty on February 12, but also applied for a protracted period of no-pay leave to attend to urgent private business. But instead of his request being granted, Williams said, he was shocked to find that, effective from January, his emoluments were withheld and, more than that, his name was later taken off the payroll, which in effect meant termination of his services.  

When he enquired what was happening, he alleged, he was given the cold shoulder, the “royal runaround”, and was told that he would have to wait until June to be paid.