On January 6, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education issued a letter to the President of the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU), where they condemned the recent strike actions, and announced that they would no longer perform duties as an agent of the Union.
In the letter issued to the President of GTU, Mark Lyte, the Ministry has stated that in light of the recent illegal conduct of the Union, they will cease to deduct union dues from the wages and salaries of teachers on behalf of GTU.
Quoting the ruling made by Chief Justice Ian Change in 2010 in the case of Guyana Public Service Union v Nanda Gopaul, the Office of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education advised the GTU to make alternative arrangements to ensure that the associated dues to the Union are collected.
Further, it was stated that if they suffer any financial loss stemming from the Government of Guyana’s withdrawal of the agency service, it will be on account of their inaction.
In response to this, Lyte took to social media to voice his concerns on the contents of the missive from the Ministry. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the Union being “discriminated against” for attempting to represent the rights of their teachers.
He condemns the stance the Ministry, and by extension, the Government is taking by not addressing the protestors, despite how many of them were out in the streets.
In what he calls “union busting”, he complained about the “gross injustice” meted out to the Union for trying to fight for their rights.
“The union is out here fighting for members,” stated the Union President.
He stated that 3914 teachers were on strike, accounting for 58% of the teachers who are a part of the Union withholding their services, whether they were out on the picket line or just happy to be at home.
He claims the release from the Ministry of Education saying most teachers showed up to work despite the strike is incorrect