GTU’s President, VP Seek High Court Relief Over Suspension, Demand Removal of GS
January 27 2025- The President and Second Vice President (VP) of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU), Dr. Mark Lyte and Julian Cambridge, have filed a Fixed Date Application (FDA) in the Demerara High Court,
challenging their suspension and seeking the removal of the union’s General Secretary, Coretta Mc
Donald.
The ongoing dispute has placed the union under intense scrutiny, as the officials claimed that their
suspension was unlawfully executed, and that Mc Donald’s position is constitutionally untenable.
Coretta Mc Donald
Mc Donald, a prominent member of the A Partnership for National Unity – Alliance for Change
(APNU-AFC), is accused of misconduct and failing to prioritise the union’s interests.
Lyte and Cambridge alleged that her dual role as a Member of Parliament and GTU General
Secretary compromises the union’s integrity and fosters political bias in its dealings with the
government.
Julian Cambridge
They asserted that this bias has hindered effective negotiations on behalf of public-sector teachers
and created an adversarial environment within the union.
The applicants seek a court declaration stating that, under the GTU Constitution, Mc Donald is
ineligible to hold any elected position within the union due to her role in the National Assembly.
They argued that her continued presence as General Secretary threatens the union’s ability to
function impartially and jeopardises its engagements with the State. According to their filing, Mc
Donald’s actions have led to decisions that reflect a political agenda.
Central to Lyte and Cambridge’s case is the claim that their suspension lacked due process. They
contend that on December 17, 2024, during a General Council meeting, a motion was introduced
and passed to suspend them from their duties with immediate effect, pending an investigation.
The applicants asserted they were given no prior notice, were not informed of the specific
allegations against them, and were denied an opportunity to respond before the motion was
approved.
The motion allegedly stemmed from accusations that the two officials acted unilaterally in reaching
an agreement with the government to resolve last year’s industrial action between the GTU and the
State.
However, Lyte and Cambridge refuted this, maintaining that their actions were sanctioned by the
General Council. They claimed that Mc Donald subsequently communicated their suspension to
various agencies, including the Ministry of Education and international bodies, and that their offices
were padlocked by other union officers.
Further, the applicants argued that the General Council meeting which approved their suspension
was improperly constituted, as Mc Donald’s position as General Secretary violates Rule 3 of the GTU
Constitution.
This rule prohibits Members of Parliament from holding any office within the union, except that of
Immediate Past President. Mc Donald has been an elected MP since 2020, rendering her role as
General Secretary unconstitutional, according to the applicants.
Lyte and Cambridge have emphasised the urgency of their application, noting that their suspension
has left them unable to fulfill their elected duties. They also pointed out that no investigation into
the allegations against them has commenced over a month after their suspension.
With the GTU elections scheduled for April 2025, they argued that swift court intervention is
necessary to resolve the matter and restore order within the union.
Additionally, the applicants highlighted that the only avenue for appealing their suspension is at the
triennial conference, which coincides with the upcoming elections.
This, they argued, underscored the importance of the court’s timely intervention to address
procedural irregularities and safeguard the union’s democratic processes.
