THE Government of Guyana (GoG) and the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) have come to an agreement to start negotiations to determine a multi-year agreement.
The strike which has been ongoing for over two months was finally called off on Friday, and next week, the teachers will return to their classrooms.
The MoE and GTU signed an Agreement of Resumption at the Ministry of Labour (MoL), on Friday, after months of mediation talks about the terms of their multi-year agreement.
The Chief Labour Officer (CLO), Dhaneshwar Deonarine, who acted as the process’s conciliator, also countersigned it.

According to a press release from the MoL: “This agreement will put an end to the strike action being enacted by teachers across the country, ensure full resumption of work by all teachers/educators within two working days, and allow children to resume their academic endeavours.”
Further, it was said that during the signing, the CLO voiced his satisfaction that the parties were able to peacefully resolve the issue of the strike and move towards a solution.
He said: “We are very happy that we were able to meet an agreement, and of course, given where we started and how we were going, it is good to see that the words that we constantly hear—trust and good faith—eventually came true in the end, and the fact that we are about to sign this agreement is evidence of that.”

Deonarine added that the Ministry of Labour remains committed and will continue to provide the facilitation to advance the process.
Further, the Permanent Secretary of the Education Ministry, Shannielle Hoosein-Outar, reaffirmed that the government has always been committed to ensuring that the children, the teachers and the nation overall, are able to attain betterment.
She expressed optimism towards the amicable resolution of the multi-year agreement with the GTU.
She said: “The Ministry of Education, and by extension, the government, is very happy that we have come to an agreement, and that we can conclude this first step in the conciliation process… We look forward to the continued commitment of the GTU, as we are committed to bringing a conclusion to this matter so that at the end of it, we can have a multi-year agreement that benefits all parties.”
President of the GTU, Mark Lyte, echoed similar sentiments.

“GTU is committed to the process to ensure that we continue to negotiate in good faith, and at the end of it, we arrived at a position that would be beneficial to the children, the teachers and the nation as a whole… I hope that we can find common ground and see the bigger picture as we go forward,” he said.
The conciliation talks began on May 12, 2024, following a request by the Education Ministry due to a stalemate in negotiations.
Since then, the MOE and GTU have met numerous times, under the supervision of the MoL, to embark on negotiations to determine a multi-year agreement which would be beneficial to all parties involved.
The process adheres to the guidelines outlined in the 1990 Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) titled, “The Avoidance and Settlement of Disputes”, as well as the Labour Act, Chapter 98:01 of the Laws of Guyana.
The MOE and GTU will meet next Wednesday, June 26, 2024, to continue conciliation talks regarding the parameters of the Multi-Year Agreement. The CLO will conciliate these negotiations as well.
In the agreement, GTU and MoE agreed on several conditions.

It was said that there shall be an end to the strike and full resumption of work by all teachers/educators within two working days, and there shall be no victimisation by either party.
Further, the agreement stated that there shall be no loss of service for any teachers/educators, they will return to their respective positions held before the strike and there shall be no transfers upon resumption.
Also, the status quo ante shall prevail subject to any ruling which may emanate from extant legal proceedings between the two parties, the agreement said.
“Upon the full resumption of work by teachers/educators, conciliation will commence forthwith to determine whether the timeframe proposed by GTU, 2019-2023 or MOE 2024 and onwards should form part of a new multi-year agreement,” it then read.