The Ministry of Education has announced that more than 14,700 teachers in the public education system have received their retroactive 10% salary increase for this year in their October salaries.

The increase is retroactive to January 2024, and is keeping with the recently signed Agreement between the Government of Guyana and the Guyana Teachers’ Union.

In a statement, the Ministry of Education said the payments underscores the Government’s commitment to valuing the hard work and dedication of the nation’s educators.

The Ministry said the 10% increase and the salary adjustments have put more than $2.5 billion in the hands of our educators countrywide.

The Agreement was signed in August after seven months of strike action by the nation’s teachers. The signing was clouded in controversy as several members of the negotiating team including the General Secretary of the Guyana Teachers’ Union complained that the agreement had not received the full support of the General Council of the GTU. However, the GTU President, Dr. Mark Lyte maintains that the agreement had received a majority support of the General Council.

As teachers returned to their jobs, many of them accused Lyte of not being straight forward with them, and reminded him that throughout their strike action he would consult them before any major decision of the General Council. They said they were not consulted on the agreement at all.

Lyte had turned down a 9% salary increase for the teachers for 2024, but accepted a 10% increase. As part of the agreement, the teachers will receive an 8% salary increase in 2025 and a 9% in 2026.

The union shelved its demands for the years 2019 to 2023 as part of the negotiations for 2024 and onwards.

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