Minister of Education Henry Jeffrey says he is open to new talks for teachers this year and is interested in negotiating a three-year package.
To this end he has asked Permanent Secretary Ganga Persaud to make contact with the union.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Jeffrey highlighted the ministry's work for last year and gave projections for 2004. He says he is willing to have the negotiations as soon as the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) is ready. Efforts to contact GTU President Sydney Murdock for a comment proved futile.
Noting that the ministry's relationship with the GTU deteriorated during last year, he remarked that it was not good for the education sector. "The cooperation of the teaching profession, parents and other stakeholders is essential to our success."
"...We are prepared to work to arrive at reasonable and timely solutions to... differences that may exist," he added.