– as Guyana celebrates yet another Labour Day

SOME 300 teachers and other workers in the education system on Tuesday joined in the annual Labour Day parade hosted in Georgetown, calling for improved working conditions and salaries.
The teachers rallied under the banner of the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) and hailed from the Buxton and Upper West Bank Demerara branch, while other workers represented the University of Guyana (UG).
GTU President Mark Lyte told the Guyana Chronicle that many in the union are eager to witness progression of the multi-year remuneration package between the Ministry of Education and the GTU, which is currently awaiting Cabinet approval.
Once approved, the agreement will see teachers receiving several benefits, such as salary increases, and is expected to be signed into effect before the end of the current school year.
“We know that our teachers work very hard, so our presence here today is saying that in spite of all the challenges, we are quite committed to the task at hand of molding the nation’s children,” Lyte said.

A GROWING CONSCIOUSNESS

Comparing past parades to the present one, Lyte said that there has been an increase in the number of teachers participating in the rally, which is indicative of a growing consciousness of the benefits of togetherness.
“This is a step in the right direction,” he said. “People are now understanding the value and importance of unionism, and the role of the union for workers for this country.”
Meanwhile, speaking to a few teachers from the GTU Buxton and Upper West Bank Demerara branches, teachers told of the issues which affect the level of service they are able to provide.
One teacher of La Parfaite Harmonie Primary, Shavone Washington, said that access to school supplies for teachers is a common concern, and made recommendations for the resolution of this issue.

“Rather than teachers having to take the money out of their pockets to buy teaching aids,” she said, “we could address the issue whereby the government can set up a store or an area where teachers can get materials at a cheaper cost, so that we can be more effective in the classroom.”
Another teacher from Nismes Primary by the name of Delana Jones, said that the day-to-day curriculum delivery and teaching timetable in each region need to be standardised to avoid confusion.

“We have one region doing something different and another doing something different and then we meet together… “There’s a conflict of interest affecting the proper delivery of education countrywide,” she said.

MARKED IMPROVEMENT
However, reflecting on the past, she said that over the years, general working conditions for teachers have begun to improve.
“There’s no doubt about it, things are getting better for the teaching profession, but there is room for improvement,” she said. “We accept that everything cannot happen right away; that things take time; change takes time.”
Meanwhile, representing tertiary education workers were members of the University of Guyana Workers Union (UGWU) and Senior Staff Association (UGSSA) along with presidents Bruce Haynes and Jewel Thomas.
Haynes told the newspaper that there are not enough mechanisms to support the “voice” of workers at the university, an issue which must be tackled from the root.
“There is a great imbalance,” he said, “in that the plans that are projected are not necessarily the plans that all of us want.”

He recommended careful planning, with the inclusion of all workers, despite their positions, to be part of the decision-making process which will help university heads to experience less resistance.
Adding to this, Thomas said that another urgent situation is the working conditions of those at the institution.

“A big issue for us is working conditions, especially for some members of staff who are working in very sub-par conditions, and we’re not seeing any indications that the senior administration of the university are [sic] going to do anything about it this year,” she said.
Despite these challenges, Haynes is encouraging workers of the various unions to remain steadfast in their efforts to push for improved standards in the future.
“We have to stay together, we cannot fight one another. We have to stay together, it is the only way that we’re going to succeed. The challenges are great but once we work together, we will overcome them,” he remarked.