The Government is offering between $40M-$60M to striking teachers as an "indicative figure [that] would form the basis for further negotiations" and end the prolonged strike over 2002 salary increases.
Labour Minister, Dr Dale Bisnauth yesterday presented the offer to the union. But Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) Vice-President Phillip Roberts has said that the offer made was $50M to bring the salaries of the lower categories of teachers on par with public servants and another $15M to bring closure to the 2002 salaries discussions.
At a press briefing yesterday, Bisnauth said that the offer was based on a presentation he had made to President Bharrat Jagdeo and Cabinet on Tuesday. The offer follows a report submitted by an advisory committee established by Bisnauth to hear the views of the two sides and to make recommendations to him.
The dispute between the union and the Ministry of Education has led to teachers going on strike with the industrial action entering its 22nd day today, disrupting the studies of those pupils in crucial exam years. The union is demanding that the salaries of teachers in the lower categories be brought on par with those of the minimum wage of the traditional public servants and that teachers in the higher categories be given a 15% increase for 2002.
Bisnauth said while the government's figure might form the basis for negotiations it should be listed among the terms of resumption.
He added that as Minister of Labour, he and his ministry were not in a position to bargain but to act as conciliators in the process to resolve the dispute.
Bisnauth said that "our task is to get the two parties to sit down and fulfill one of the recommendations and [that is] to return to the bargaining table. Our hope is that the indicative figures would form the basis for further negotiations."
The offer, he said was primarily to bring the salaries of those teachers who earn below the minimum wage of public servants, on par with that of the public servants. By making that offer, he said that "there is provided here some room for negotiations."
He said one of the important recommendations of the Advisory Committee was that the two parties should agree to return to the bargaining table and terms of resumption be mutually agreed on.
The committee specifically recommended two options for consideration. The first recommendation states that "the two parties should agree to initiate discussions, within the ambit of the CLA (Collective Labour Agreement) on salary and other benefits for 2003, on the mutual understanding that consideration would be given to the events of 2002 with a view to "factor(ing) in" any benefits that may not have been addressed in the 2002 award, bearing in mind the procedures of budgeting and accounting in the public service."
The second recommendation is that they "agree to reopen discussions on the Salary Proposal of the GTU for 2002 - 2004 and the presentation of the MOE (Ministry of Education), with mutual agreement to consider the main factors/events that led up to the award of 2002 and factor in any benefits for 2002 that may not have been addressed, in the salary and ancillary benefits for 2003 and 2004."
The first option in effect, the Advisory Committee summary said, would deal with the year 2003 only, bearing in mind the events of 2002, whereas the second option was taking a medium term (multi-year) approach to the salary and benefits issue, for the teaching profession. The union had presented a multi-year proposal.
Bisnauth who was out of the country and only returned on May 1 said that on May 2, he had received a copy of a letter informing him that the union was going to call teachers out on strike on Monday, May 5. He sought to intervene on that day by calling the two parties to discuss the Advi-sory Committee's report.
He said that the ministry indicated its satisfaction with the report while the union indicated that, by and large, it was fair.
However, it was pointed out that the two optional recommendations had been made at earlier stages in "bilateral conversations" between the ministry and the union and at the stage of conciliation when they would have met under the chairmanship of the Chief Labour Officer, hence Bisnauth's presentation to the President and Cabinet and government's offer.
Bisnauth said that he had met with the union alone yesterday to present the offer because he did not want to give the impression that he was tolerating negotiations under duress.
Earlier in the day Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon said the Cabinet supported the strategy of continued negotiations.