A short History of the Guyana Teachers' Union

  1. The Guyana Teachers' Union was formed in 1884, mainly by some of the Administrators in the Public Schools in Guyana. Because Guyana, at that time, was a British Colony, it was registered as the British Guiana Teachers' Association. After the country's independence in 1966, it was renamed as the Guyana Teachers' Association. Later in the 1980's it was further renamed the Guyana Union of Teachers and finally, in that decade, it was named as the Guyana Teachers' Union.
  2. Objective
    The main objective of the Union is to secure the complete unionization of all teachers employed in all Learning institutions at the Nursery, Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Levels, that fall under the ambit of the Ministry of Education and those that are privately owned and to obtain and maintain for its members, individually and collectively, just and proper remuneration, terms of employment and such other conditions of service, as may be deemed desirable by the Union and generally to protect their interest.
  3. Central Executive Officers
    The Union is governed by Central Executive Officers holding the positions mentioned below:
    • President
    • 1st Vice-President
    • 2nd Vice-President i
    • Immediate Past President
    • General Secretary
    • Deputy General Secretary
    • Treasurer
    • Regional Vice President, Essequibo
    • Regional Vice President, Demerara
    • Regional Vice President, Berbice
    The first elected President of the Guyana Teachers' Union was Brother Sydney A. Campbell and he held office from 1884-1888, while the first General Secretary was Brother Aloysius DeWeever, who held office from 1884-1888. He was later elected to the Presidency and served for the period 1888-1889. The current serving President is Brother Colwyn King and the General Secretary is Sister Coretta McDonald.
  4. Membership
    The Union has a membership of over seven thousand (7,000) Teachers and they can be found in the thirty-eight (38) Branches of the Union. These Branches can be found throughout the length and breadth of Guyana. There are also two (2) sections in the Union:
    • A. Women's Advisory Committee, which was formed in 1940. The first elected Chairman was Sister Engenie Martindale and she served from 1940-943. The present Chairman is Sister Joan Butcher.
    • B. National Sports Section was formed in1959 and caters for the needs of all sport events in the schools in Guyana. The present Chairman is Brother Ceon Bristol and the Secretary is Sister Colleen Liddell.
  5. Conferences
    The Union holds Delegate Conferences biennially and many decisions are taken in the interest of the Union.

Coretta McDonald
General Secretary
G.T.U