The Ministries of Education and Labour and the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) are closer to resolving the ongoing teachers’ strike. This was revealed by President, Dr Irfaan Ali during a press engagement today at State House.
“…From the most recent feedback I have received, there seems to be some movement in relation to getting to an initial agreement on terms that would see the situation resumed to some amount of normalcy,” he said.
The Labour Ministry was summoned to step in to help resolve the matter after the Education Ministry and the union arrived at a stalemate regarding the period that should be considered for attention.
The GTU wants the government to consider pay increases going back to 2019, while the administration is willing to look at 2024 and onwards.
The strike by some teachers started on February 5.
Dr Ali stressed that the government will continue to prioritise the wellbeing and needs of teachers, students and parents.
As part of its continuous developmental ambitions, the government is heavily investing in the education sector to execute numerous policies and programmes.
Additionally, the president stated that students will have greater access to educational opportunities.
“We are committed to ensuring that they have fair treatment. We are committed to ensuring that their welfare and lives in totality improve as our country continues to improve,” he vowed.
He continued, “And our priorities [are] to ensure that our children will not suffer or the teachers. And that is why we are investing in giving our teachers the best infrastructural conditions to work in, supporting their career development and supporting their personal aspirations for education and becoming trained.”
