On Day 12 of what was intended to be a ten (10) day strike, teachers continued to raise their voices to make their plight for better wages and working conditions heard. Some Teachers have even taken to Facebook to share their own experiences of how they manage to live on the meager salary they receive.
Meanwhile some Teachers on the picket line related their experiences of taking Urgent Private Affairs Leave (UPA) because they did not have money for transportation to work, while others shared how they chose not to have children for fear of not being able to support them. On a Facebook live today Mr. Martin Samaroo, a Non-Graduate Senior Assistant Master of Essequibo, shared his economic reality of living on teacher’s salary.
Mr. Samaroo, a teacher for thirteen years, cited his genuine “love for children” as the driving force behind his decision to join the teaching profession at the tender age of seventeen. The thirty-year old educator works several part time jobs after school hours and on weekends to provide for his family of three (3). He expressed that he was forced to learn skills like plumbing and carpentry like many of his colleagues because they simply cannot afford to pay for these services.
According to Samaroo, his monthly expenses vastly outweigh his wages since his financial obligations amount to over 140,000 GYD per month. The teacher said that his take-home salary is 138,000 GYD, which is barely sufficient to cover necessities like utility bills, groceries, transportation and drinking water.
Sir Samaroo asserted that teachers’ cry for better wages is more than a want, but it is in fact a need for survival. In justifying the ongoing strike action, he asserted that teachers are tired of suffering, hence they will continue to withhold their services and will not return to the classrooms until the Ministry of education meets with the Guyana Teachers’ Union to resolve their issues.
Mr. Samaroo called on the Government to show the “power of their love” as the cries of the nation’s educators are real as they are forced to “stretch their pittance”, living pay cheque to pay cheque just to keep bread on their table. He urged the current administration to do the “honourable thing” by calling off the strike and meeting with the teachers to address their issues.