In a comment to the Chronicle, President of the GTU, Sydney Murdock, said the union is dissatisfied with the “rate of progress” pertaining to the ongoing salary negotiations for the period 2002-2004.

As a result of this dissatisfaction, the union said it will be seeking the intervention of the Minister of Labour in a bid to make the talks more productive, Murdock said.

He also said the GTU will be hosting a press conference to give greater details of its dissatisfaction and to outline its plans in relation to the issue.

Asked if everything has gone back to “square one”, he replied that “it is not far from there.”

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Hydar Ally, who is representing the ministry at the negotiations, said in a brief comment that an offer on the 2003 salary proposal was made. But he declined to give specific details.

Several meetings have already been held since the signing of the terms of resumption brokered by the Ministry of Labour following the month-long strike by the union. The terms of resumption has set a one-month timeframe for the conclusion of negotiations from the time of signing, which means just another couple of days remain before the deadline is up.

The Ministry of Education and the GTU signed an agreement on May 19 last on the terms of resumption, breaking the deadlock that led to the strike and resulting in the return of teachers to work.

Minister of Labour, Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Dale Bisnauth, said the discussions were conducted in a cordial atmosphere, observing that one of the “sticky” issues which delayed the conclusion of the terms of resumption was the issue of salary proposals for 2002-2004. However, this was amicably resolved through the arrival of a suitable formula by the two sides.

Following the deadlock between the Ministry of Education and the GTU, an Advisory Committee was established by the Labour Ministry to investigate the circumstances surrounding the dispute between the two sides.

The report of the Advisory Committee was compiled and submitted to the relevant authorities, paving the way for resumption of discussions between the two parties facilitated by the Ministry of Labour. After about four days of discussions an agreement to end the strike was clinched.