Teachers pay talks
Sides haggling over increases for higher paid staff
Stabroek News
June 4, 2003
The Ministry of Education is currently exploring various options for higher paid teachers, including what may be a $50M package as it looks to draw a line under 2002 salary talks.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Hydar Ally told Stabroek News on Monday that the ministry had not made the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) any one per cent offer as was being claimed, but was looking at modalities that included a one per cent increase.
GTU President, Sydney Murdock said that the one per cent increase was discussed and the union would not agree to it.
Ally said the union appeared to be stuck in the 2002 mode. He stressed that the terms of resumption the ministry signed committed the ministry “to concluding the agreement to the Salary Proposals 2002-2004, as submitted by the Guyana Teachers’ Union, within four weeks after the signing of the terms...”
But Murdock said before increases in salaries for 2003 and 2004 could be discussed the increases for 2002 had to be settled.
He said that at the last meeting on Friday the government’s proposal of $50M was to bring the salaries of acting teachers to the same level of the traditional public servant.
The $15M was to be used as a basis for negotiations for the higher categories of public servants and was dissected to see how the government’s proposed offer could be shared.
He said that $40M of the $50M proposal could bring up the salaries of the acting teachers to the level of the traditional public servant. The remaining $10M when added to the $15M would amount to $25M but when paid out would amount to less than a one per cent increase on salaries.
Ally told Stabroek News that the ministry was looking to a package “closer to $50M.”
But Murdock said even a $50M package would amount to a 1.25% increase on the 5% already paid to higher paid teachers and that was unacceptable.
He said the union had dropped its 15% demand to 10% and was not prepared to go much lower but negotiations were still on.
He said the union was looking at a package that was way over $100M but the ministry was not even coming halfway.
The discussions will continue tomorrow.
