The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) is proposing the establishment of a tripartite board comprising it, the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) and the government to run the Critchlow Labour College (CLC) as a means of breaking the subvention impasse.
Government withdrew the monthly $2.9 million subvention to the college from August 2007 and has not budgeted for it this year.
Asked for its views on government’s withdrawal of the subvention, President of FITUG, Carvil Duncan told Stabroek News that FITUG “cannot allow the CLC to go extinct.”
“We need to find a solution which will give the government the comfort they need to restore the subvention,” he said adding that it was because of the manner in which the subvention was used that the government withdrew it. When pressed, Duncan cited “poor accountability.” Even though the CLC would have submitted audited reports, he said that “if they do not understand the purpose of the subvention, then they could not fulfill its objectives.” He said that an acceptable approach to dealing with the matter is to have a board which is tripartite in nature with an equal number of representatives from FITUG, the GTUC and the government.
It was time that the society comes to grips with the reality that there are two trade union umbrella bodies, he said, stating that a first step in this direction is to recognize FITUG, the GTUC and the government collectively in resolving the issue of the subvention.
This move could be a step to trade union unity in Guyana, he said, adding, “if we are serious about trade union unity.” Once this is achieved at the level of the CLC, he said that “in working together, there might very well evolve one trade union movement.”
General Secretary of FITUG, Kenneth Joseph told Stabroek News that FITUG was not happy with what is taking place with the CLC including the membership of the board and the college’s shift from that of a workers college to becoming a business venture and being used as a stepping stone for entry to the University of Guyana.
“We are looking to see how we can try to bring it back to being a workers college, focusing on workers education for labour,” he said.
Joseph said that FITUG members were not invited to take part in programmes at the CLC in the past though there had been an attempt in this direction by the immediate past Dr Rupert Roopnaraine who resigned after being on the job for some months and trying to work around the withdrawal of the subvention.
In the past, he said that quotas for various labour programmes were allocated to unions but this had ceased.
FITUG broke ranks with the GTUC in 1988 and now comprises five of the largest trades unions in the country. Up to several years ago Duncan’s union the GLU had been a staunch backer of only the TUC. It however joined up with FITUG several years ago.
Meanwhile, Secretary of the CLC Board of Directors Lincoln Lewis earlier this month said that the government denies the CLC the subventions because of the claim of a lack of unity in the trades union movement. That position, he said was unjustified and would not stand the test of scrutiny in any objective forum since one of the largest unions was not a member of the GTUC when the CLC was established over 40 years ago.
The withdrawal of the subventions, Lewis argued has had a negative impact on the student population, which comes from the low income brackets, and provides a second chance to school dropouts or some who might not have completed secondary schooling.
On account of the withdrawal of the subvention, he said the CLC was forced to lay off six staff members; scrap the posts of five heads of departments replacing them with two coordinators. Further, enrollment has dropped significantly.
At present the CLC Board Chairman, Andrew Garnett is heading a committee that is monitoring the day-to-day activities to ensure that its objectives are achieved.
The CLC offers programmes in the London-based Association of Business Executives examinations with courses in business administration, business information systems, and travel, tourism and hospitality, in addition to the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) offered by the Caribbean Examinations Council.
Due to the withdrawal of the subvention, Lewis said that the CLC has had to put on hold a number of associate degree programmes in regional labour studies including human resource development, project resources and occupational health and safety it had planned on implementing in conjunction with its sister college in Trinidad and Tobago, the Cipriani College of Labour. These programmes are recognised by the University of the West Indies.
The CLC was established in 1967 to provide worker education and the college had been receiving a government subvention for decades.
