Teachers around Guyana, especially those on the Essequibo Coast, Region Two, are determined to achieve economic justice, and they are calling on the Government of Guyana (GoG) to put employee welfare first as the second week of the strike approaches.
On the sixth day of the walkout, the teachers emphasized the diabolical disparity between the ridiculously low pay for teachers in Guyana and the country’s rising Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The growing oil industry is responsible for Guyana’s GDP position worldwide. Teachers in Guyana are still having difficulty “to make ends meet,” they said, pointing out that despite their country being named the fastest expanding in the world, their pay remains pitiful in 2024. Teachers chanted, “The sap ain’t sapping.”
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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated last year that Guyana had the greatest GDP growth rate in the world in 2022, at 62.3 percent. By 2028, the GDP of the nation is anticipated to have increased by more than 100%.
Nonetheless, the nation’s educators are requesting a meeting between the Irfaan Ali-led administration and the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) to find a way to guarantee teachers have a decent existence, especially in light of the growing cost of living. Yesterday, in spite of the unfavorable weather—which included rain—the educators persisted in their call for more pay, gathering on Anna Regina’s well-known “high-bridge” and holding signs outlining their complaints.
A well-known teacher who was part of the protests, Sir Martin Samaroo, drew attention to the stark difference between teacher pay in Guyana and those in neighboring Caribbean countries.
Speaking yesterday during the demonstration, he bemoaned, “Guyana’s GDP surpassed all of the economies of the countries in the Caribbean and the wider region, and yet their salaries are higher, yet they are being paid more, we are last on the list but we’re producing more than all of them, we’re producing more than all of them and our salaries are last on the list. Can you believe that?”
Samaroo continued, expressing shock, “Can you believe that in 2024, in the oil republic of Guyana, with the highest GDP in the region we are being paid the least, we are being paid the least of the statists I presented can you believe that, can you believe something like that…is that how they care?”
By making comparisons with nearby nations, Samaroo exposed shocking data on average teacher wages in the following nations: Grenada ($1,890), Dominica ($1,670), Trinidad and Tobago ($1,500), Antigua ($1110), St. Martin ($2,714), Jamaica ($623), and St. Vincent ($813). “And Guyana the oil republic of the Caribbean $600 US a month,” Sir Samaroo noted. He went on, “We are at the bottom of the pay chart even though our GDP is at the top we are at the bottom of the salary scale…”
According to the educator, US$600 is the monthly salary for around 65% of Guyana’s teaching employment. “Tell the people that you are producing more than any other country, your GDP is higher than any other country, yet the salaries, your teachers are being paid the least in the region, the least,” Sir Samaroo noted.
The GTU started the current protest on February 5, 2024, and it is becoming more and more popular every day. Teachers in Essequibo are part of a national movement demanding equitable pay, and they have vowed to continue escalating their protests until their demands are fulfilled.
