The Advisory Committee, appointed to inquire into the pay dispute between the education ministry and the teachers' union, has invited the two sides to a meeting on Monday.
The committee, comprising chairman, Dr Martin Boodhoo and members Francis Carryl and John Seeram held their first meeting yesterday and are asking the Ministry of Education and Guyana Teachers' Union (GTU) to submit separate memoranda outlining their case as part of the preliminary plan.
The committee, in a release issued by Dr Boodhoo, also invited both the GTU and the Education Ministry to separate meetings on Monday followed by a joint meeting to discuss the modalities of proceeding and any preliminary suggestions for resolving the dispute.
Meanwhile, the Labour Ministry has also invited the two sides to a meeting on Monday to discuss terms of resumption for striking teachers, Chief Labour Officer Mohamed Akeel said.
The teachers are calling for a 15% across the board in-crease on their 2002 salaries.
During the setting up of the committee, the Ministry of Labour had urged the GTU to call off the strike which is now into its eleventh day. The strike was intensified this week with the teachers staying away from school from Tuesday.
At press time, Chief Labour Officer Mohamed Akeel told this newspaper that he was still awaiting the response of the GTU to the setting up of the committee and to calling off the strike.
Nevertheless, he said he had once again written to the sides inviting them to the meeting.
Meanwhile teachers from across the three counties took their protest to Linden where they continued their call for more money and swift action by the Minister of Education.
Around five hundred teachers assembled at the Wisburg Secondary School on the Wismar shore from where they marched to the Mackenzie Sports Club Ground. On their way they were joined by a number of parents.
As they passed several businesses, workers cheered them on encouraging them to continue in their struggle.
Their main chants were `No money. No school' and `School close down, till money come.'
But there were many parents who expressed disgust at the teachers' choice of time to conduct their strike, especially parents of children who are to write the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) and the Secondary Schools En-trance Examinations this year.
"Y'all tek a really bad time fo' do dis man. Y'all know dem CXC children have to submit dem SBA [School Based Assessments] at a certain time. Y'all ain't care one bull foot 'bout dem children obviously," one angry parent shouted at the teachers as they passed by the Mackenzie Market Square. While another yelled, "leh we see better results from we children, den y'all can call fo' me money."
At the ground they were addressed by the GTU First Vice President Phillip Roberts.
He told the teachers that the union would continue the action until a favourable agreement is brokered between the union and the government regarding their demands. He urged them not to be intimidated by the Minister of Education but to be firm in their struggle. (Miranda La Rose and Cathy Wilson in Linden)