Guyanese opposition leader stands firm in support of teachers' strike
Guyanese Opposition leader Aubrey Norton has restated the Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change’s (APNU+AFC) support for the ongoing teachers' strike.
Norton accused the government of being “uncaring” about the teachers' concerns and the hundreds of students affected by their absence from the classroom for over two weeks.
He said: “The government may be thinking that they don’t want to show weakness and must hold out against all comers but let me be clear – this is not a time for one-upmanship…Our teachers are suffering, our children are suffering, the vendors who work around the schools are suffering, the transportation workers who transport our students and teachers are suffering, every parent who has a child is suffering, and all our people are suffering because this government considers itself above the people and refuses to understand that they are there to serve rather than to dictate and we condemn this intransigence by the government in the harshest terms possible.”
“It is regrettable that the current regime has allowed this impasse to endure for so long, despite the availability of the oil revenues as referenced by the recent trillion-dollar budget. Clearly, for this administration, roads are more important than people. Cheddi Jagan, a leader who stood for the rights of the people, must be turning in his grave.”
The opposition leader said the government cannot claim it doesn’t have the money since the country can afford to pay public servants better salaries.
“Our children should not be held hostage to political brinkmanship. The longer this strike persists, the greater the harm inflicted upon the most vulnerable members of our society. Government should note that by their actions they are creating the conditions for all public servants to consider whether they too should come out on the picket line, because as the cost-of-living skyrockets wages have not kept up,” he stated.
He also hit back at claims that the Guyana Teachers Union’s protest is political saying the issue of public servants remuneration packages should not be a partisan issue.
Norton said if the APNU/AFC wins next year’s Regional and General Election they will prioritise the well-being of teachers and public servants.
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