Dear Editor,
Mr. Carvil Duncan according to the newspapers (4/01/2006) is threatening to strike against the City Council for an unpaid half month pay for workers represented by the union. According to Mr. Duncan, FITUG unions and the private sector are standing ready to support GLU’s strike action.
President Jagdeo’s collusion with Mr. Duncan to advance City Council $33M as revenue payment for 2007 to pay workers is a disgrace. The government over the years has allowed state entities not to pay the City Council their taxes. Some of the same private sector members who are colluding with Mr. Duncan to undermine the City Council and calling for an Interim Management Committee are running companies that are paying workers less than the stipulated minimum wages and are exploiting women by having them sign for monies that they are not paid.
This is the same private sector, some of whom are not paying taxes and on many occasions are deducting employees NIS contributions and not paying them over to the Scheme. This same private sector pointing figures at the City Council’s incompetence, see persons before the courts for failing to repay monies borrowed from the bank.
The current City Council exits today because of the failure of the PPP to put transparent systems in place to hold local government elections. Local government elections were not held since 1994. Notwithstanding this the government will continue to deliberately undermine the City Council to cause people to believe that only the PPP can run the City Council.
Mr. Duncan is a member of GPL’s Board and he should tell GPL to pay the City Council the taxes owing. Mr. Jagdeo is head of government and he should see to it that all the government agencies pay their taxes to the Council. The private sector organisations should tell their members to pay the taxes owing to the Council.
The ones who will suffer are the poor and powerless workers who will be put in the streets to lose more money than they are expected to receive.
Remember this threatened strike is for approximately 11 days pay. Mr. Duncan is trying to fool the public and workers that the City Council was wrong to deduct pay from workers who were on strike. This is dishonesty of the highest order. Those striking workers are hourly paid and could only have been paid for the time they have worked. Mr. Duncan needs to tell workers where in the world workers strike and get pay.
Yours faithfully,
Albert Thompson
