One day after the nation’s teachers called off their nationwide strike action, their union, the Guyana Teacher’s Union is preparing for arbitration.

At a press conference this afternoon,  GTU President Mark Lyte indicated that the union will be looking outside of Guyana for someone to lead the arbitration process.

He also stressed the importance of finding a Chairperson for the panel of Arbitrators who will be impartial and and who will respect both sides that are going to the table.

“It is very important for us to looks for someone who will provide a neutral balance for both teachers and government; looking at what the economy can afford and offer. Also looking at what is needed for teachers to be given a living wage and what other benefits that our teachers deserve. The challenge is finding someone who will not be politically influenced, someone that will bring that neutral balance to team”, Lyte said.

He said the search for an impartial Chairperson of the Arbitration panel could go outside of Guyana’s borders.

“Yes, we have a few options. We have several affiliates around the Caribbean that we can call upon to be a part of the panel. It doesn’t exclude outside persons being a part of the panel. That might very wel be an option.”

The GTU insisted on arbitration because it said it lost confidence in the Department of Labor overlooking the conciliation process. But the Union attended all of the conciliation meetings.

Although some teachers stayed away from work today, the majority of teachers were in the classrooms. The Union President today issued a call for all its members to return to work by Monday, so that all schools could return to a state of normalcy.

With the Education Ministry and the Guyana Teachers Union both agreeing to arbitration, they will meet on Tuesday to decide on the terms of reference for that arbitration process.  (Dennis Glasgow)

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