EVEN as the re-opening of schools currently takes prime focus in discussions between the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) and the Ministry of Education (MoE), the Union is still hoping to broach the subject of its Collective Labour Agreement (CLA) and salary negotiations before the end of the year.
Since the change of government earlier this month, the GTU has already met with the new Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, after she assumed the post on August 5, and future engagements are planned.
However, the two sides are currently focused on putting together a safe and practical plan for the re-opening of schools, which have been closed since March 16 due to the COVID-19 outbreak here. As such, the GTU says the discussions on the salary negotiations have understandably been deferred.
“With regards to our negotiations, that is not going to happen now; it’s going to be a little off for now. It is on the agenda, but with COVID-19, we can’t do much,” GTU General Secretary, Coretta McDonald explained in an invited comment on Thursday.
Nonetheless, McDonald says the Union is hopeful of broaching the issue with the Ministry in the not too distant future.
“We’re hoping that it can be done before the end of the year, as soon as we are settled with the COVID-19 business, and school readiness,” she said, adding: “Before we make a decision, we must ensure that proper systems are in place to safeguard the lives of our teachers, our charges, as well as the community on a whole where schools are located in.”
OPEN TO COMPROMISE
Asked whether the GTU would be willing to revise what it had previously asked for, in light of the COVID-19 situation, which has gravely affected economic activity in the country, McDonald said the Union is open to compromise.
“When we have discussions on that, based on what is laid on the table, GTU will take a position. We will decide whether we are going to lower our asking; forego our asking because of what is facing us at this time, or whether we would hold on to our position,” McDonald replied.
She added that: “Just like everything else, GTU is very considerate, and outside of the finances, there are other non-salary benefits that can be offered to teachers to say if we choose to forego ‘A’, then we can have additional non-salary benefits to cushion ‘A’. So, in our negotiations, if the MoE says we don’t have finances, then that would be up for consideration.”
However, notwithstanding the downturn of most of its economic activities, Guyana has continued to profit from its newly-minted oil-and-gas industry, and McDonald said that when the economy normalises, teachers, like everyone else, will be expecting their piece of the pie.
“It’s only a matter of time before we would be able to get access to that money; and that money caters for increases in salaries and that sort of thing. So that is up for discussion. As soon as we settle on the COVID-19, we can have further discussions on further matters,” she noted.
Guyana currently has over US$90M in its Natural Resource Fund (NRF), after the country sold its first and second million-barrel of crude for US$55 million and US$35 million respectively, and received US$4.9M in royalties from the first-quarter gross production.
The various governmental ministries are currently in the process of crafting their budgets, which is expected in approximately two weeks, with the national fiscal plan expected to urgently address relief to citizens facing economic pressure.
The GTU had last year submitted a three-year proposal, for 2019 – 2021, pertaining to salary increase suggestions among other things, to the MoE, as the previous agreement running 2016 – 2018 would’ve concluded on December 31, 2018.
STALLED NEGOTIATIONS
However, several issues have since stalled the negotiations, including the successful passage of a No-Confidence Motion against the then government in December 2018; a change of Permanent Secretary at the Ministry in 2019; and the holding of national elections earlier this year, which stretched on for five months before the new government was declared.
The situation is further compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic after Guyana recorded its first case on March 11, which has since increased to 846 cases. McDonald related that notwithstanding the end of the previous agreement, it still stands until a new one is instituted.
“The agreement that we have, even though it is expired, it still stands, because there is a clause in that agreement to say that until a new agreement is in, all the conditions of the previous agreement will continue to be met; teachers will continue to receive their duty-free concessions and allowances. The only exception there is salary increases,” she noted.
In its last agreement with the Education Ministry, signed in 2018, the GTU received retroactive salary increases of 12, eight, and eight per cent, respectively, for the years 2016 – 2018.
REACHED AGREEMENT
The two sides had reached the agreement following strike action by the Union, which was initially asking for an across-the-board increase in salary of 40 per cent for 2016, and incremental increases of five per cent in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively.
With no agreement in 2019, teachers were givne the same retroactive tax-free 8.5 to 9 per cent salary increases that were allotted to public servants.
However, in a previous interview, McDonald had noted that the GTU was considering that salary increase as an interim payout until a final amount was decided upon.
McDonald said that even as discussions on the way forward on salary negotiations have been sidelined, the new administration is conscious of the proposal submitted by the GTU.
“What I can say is that the Minister is fully aware as to what is happening, and aware of where we are at as regards GTU’s proposal, and I guess she is having her team look at that and to advise her, so that she can advise her Cabinet colleagues. And then when she comes to us, we will get a position from her.”
