THE 25% increase in wages and salaries for teachers that the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) has opted for in its new multi-year agreement will seek to attract more males into the teaching profession.Annually, as outlined in the current agreement, teachers are to receive a five-per cent salary increase. President of the union Mark Lyte, on countless occasions has asserted that this increase is not sufficient for teachers, and has been advocating salary increases since assuming office.

Lyte pointed out that the salary, as it stands presently, has contributed to the shortage of male teachers in the profession.

“There are more female teachers than male teachers. This is mainly because of the insufficient remuneration that is being offered to teachers.

“It would not attract males because, in most instances, they are the breadwinners at home. So I think this is what has contributed to the shortage of male teachers in schools,” Lyte posited.

Against this backdrop, Lyte said the new proposal is opting for a possible 25-35% increase in salaries for teachers which will ideally attract more males into the profession.

The new multi-year agreement is already drafted and will be handed over to the Education Ministry soon, given that the current agreement is coming to an end in December.

The agreement also sought to address an anomaly that has been existing for years: teachers who have been in the system for years receiving the same salary as a teacher of the same status, who has recently joined the profession.

According to Lyte, this aspect of the agreement has never materialised as teachers have never received this benefit. The GTU on several occasions had taken industrial action against this in the past.

“Debunching” payments will then be prioritised and will act as one of the GTU’s big demands in the new agreement, apart from salary increases.

The present agreement states that teachers are to receive an annual clothing allowance of $8,000 per annum. This has also faced a similar fate to that of the five percent increase that teachers were said to have received this year.

But given the recent elections and the issuing of the budget, these aspects of the agreement have not been delivered.

The new agreement will therefore call for an increase in the clothing allowance, given that cost of living at present is high.

The union is also negotiating for duty-free concessions for not only headteachers, but also for Senior Masters and Heads of Department as well as senior lecturers at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE).
A 150% increase in station allowances and hardlying allowances is to be negotiated also, so that teachers from the hinterland can move freely to the coastland, and vice versa.

The GTU is contemplating the establishment of a three-year wages and salaries agreement instead of a five-year one, so that the union can act upon constant changes within that timeframe.