Despite the voiced concerns of the Guyana Teachers Union [GTU] that a deliberate tactic is afoot to delay a pay increase for public school teachers, the Ministry of Education is insisting that it only wants a swift end to the situation.
At least this is according to information released by the Ministry of Social Protection today. The Social Protection Ministry by way of a statement said “the Ministry of Education has expressed a willingness to have these differences resolved amicably and speedily.”
To fast-track efforts in this regard, the Social Protection Ministry informed that it has invited representatives of the GTU and the Education Ministry to a meeting. The meeting which will be venued at the Brickdam, Georgetown Labour Department of the Social Protection Ministry is set for Tuesday September 25, 2018 at 09:00 hours.
It is expected that at this meeting the two sides will identity their nominees to sit on the arbitration panel which will determine the salaries and other benefits for public school teachers.
The Social Protection Ministry was asked to intervene after the two parties involved had failed to agree on a single nominee to head the arbitration panel.
Based on an agreement signed by the two sides the three-member panel should have seen either side selecting one member each and both agreeing on the chairperson.
The move to head to arbitration came after multiple failed attempts at conciliation and paved the way for the end of strike action which had seen public school teachers across the country protesting government’s failure to afford them a 40 percent increase for 2016.
