Over one hundred delegates attending the Guyana Teachers' Union's (GTU's) Annual General Conference picketed the Ministry of Education yesterday, continuing their demand for better pay.
The teachers, said to be from all parts of the country, demonstrated in front of the Ministry's Brickdam offices for about thirty minutes yesterday afternoon.
But General Secretary of the GTU Avril Crawford said teachers would show up on Monday for the final term of the 2002/2003 school year. As for what would happen afterwards, she could not say.
Crawford said the impromptu picketing exercise was staged because the union was yet to receive any notice, either from Education Minister, Dr. Henry Jeffrey or the Advisory Committee which had been set, on where the parties stood in terms of the wage dispute.
Before schools closed their doors for the Easter vacation, most of the country's teachers took strike action, abandoning classrooms after the ministry and the union had failed to reach agreement on a 2002 wage dispute. As a result of the industrial action, which came at a crucial examination period, the Ministry of Labour appointed a three-member Advisory Committee to inquire into the dispute and put forward recommendations for its resolution.
The Committee, which is chaired by former pro-chancellor of the University of Guyana (UG), Dr. Martin Boodhoo, and includes UG Bursar John Seeram and GUYSUCO Industrial Relations Officer, Francis Carryl, submitted its completed report on Thursday to Prime Minister Samuel Hinds.
Crawford said the union had not yet received the completed report despite being a key stakeholder in the committee's hearing.
Teachers, classified by training as being in the lower category were paid a 15% increase last year, while those in the higher category were paid a 5% increase. The union is seeking a 15% across the board increase for all teachers.