Chief Labour Officer invites GTU and Education Ministry to Conciliation talks

Chief Labour Officer, Dhaneshwar Deonarine, has written to the Guyana Teachers’ Union and the Ministry of Education inviting both sides to Conciliation talks, as teachers are continuing their resumed strike action.

General Secretary of the GTU, Coretta McDonald, informed teachers late yesterday that following the virtual meeting between GTU Executives and teachers about their ongoing strike action, the Chief Labour Officer extended an invitation to the GTU for the Conciliation talks.

It was the Ministry of Education that wrote to the Chief Labour Officer on Sunday, requesting the Conciliation talks.

The GTU said while it will accept the invitation, it will continue with the strike and protest action today.

While on the first two days of the strike action last week, teachers just stayed away from their classrooms, they are expected to begin street protests in several parts of the country today, to press the Government to return to the negotiating table to begin collective bargaining on the outstanding 2019-2023 proposal.

The Government has been insisting that it only wants to discuss an agreement for 2024 and the years ahead, completely boycotting discussions on the outstanding proposal.

The GTU has made it clear that the outstanding proposal must be dealt with first, before discussions could begin on any new agreement. The GTU has reminded the Government, through the Ministry of Education, of the High Court ruling by Justice Sandil Kissoon, who lambasted the Government for not engaging the union in collective bargaining, while blocking the administration from cutting the salaries of striking teachers.

With the strike action coming in the middle of the exams period, many parents have been urging the Government to meet with the GTU and begin collective bargaining on the outstanding agreement.