All unions should stand in solidarity with the teachers – Khemraj Ramjattan

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Alliance For Change (AFC) Leader Khemraj Ramjattan, commenting on the strike action initiated by the Guyana Teachers Union, called on the government of Guyana to urgently begin the bargaining process with teachers so as to prevent anarchy and anomalies. Ramjattan proffered that a failure of the government to engage with the GTU could plunge the country into a huge crisis.

In an interview with Credible Sources, the Parliamentarian said the Government of Guyana never believed the teachers would have taken strike action. Mr. Ramjattan said, “The government did not understand the disenchantment of the teachers, so they refused to speak to and acknowledge the teachers through the collective bargaining process.”

This, Ramjattan said, was a grave mistake by the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) government. The Opposition parliamentarian said, “This country can grind to a halt if the government continues to play ‘hard-ears’ with the teachers.” Ramjattan stated that the government should give nurses, policemen, and other public servants a better standard of living and higher pay increases, more than 6.5 percent.

The veteran politician urged all unions to stand in solidarity with the teachers. He stated that it is crucial for every right-thinking Guyanese to support the teachers’ strike action.

Mr. Ramjattan stated that out of the government’s 1.4 trillion budget, it was spending some six hundred and sixty-six billion dollars to build roads, bridges, and other infrastructure. Of that amount, he said that some twenty percent [at minimum] goes to some one thousand contractors who will have over one hundred and twenty billion dollars in hand, but public servants and pensioners who comprise more than one hundred and thirty thousand citizens are allotted a meager one hundred and thirty billion dollars.

Ramjattan, in his analysis, said this was all due to the greedy, evil, and wicked PPP government of Guyana and Vice President Jagdeo’s preference for the contractor class over the working class. This, an irate Ramjattan said, is unfair, as he called on Vice President Jagdeo and his capitalist contractor class to quit being shameless scoundrels and get to the bargaining table with the respective unions to ensure the working citizens of Guyana get a full livable wage and benefits from Guyana’s Oil resources.

On Monday, February 5, 2024, the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) began strike action, calling on the government of Guyana to come to the table to negotiate for increased salaries, allowances, and better working conditions. Teachers took to the picket lines in all ten regions of the country.

The strike has seriously affected mini-bus drivers, other service providers, and the education delivery system in Guyana. Forewarned about the industrial action that began today, many parents kept their children home, resulting in a majority of students in regions one through ten being absent from school today.

Most of the schools were closed, and for those whose doors were opened, classes were empty or just had a small number of students in classrooms, with a few liming in the school yard, on the steps, or at the vendors who operate outside of the schools. This was the situation as observed by Credible Sources during school hours on visits to several schools across Georgetown, East Bank, and East Coast Demerara.