In the absence of wage negotiations the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) says it is only fitting that government should give an interim pay increase of 12% to public sector employees.
The GPSU has been disappointed on countless occasions as it attempted to meet with government officials in fulfilment of the collective bargaining agreement which is binding on both parties, the union says.
President Patrick Yarde at a press conference on Saturday morning said that while the union had been showing up on several occasions for wage talks, no representative of the government had appeared.
According to the union over $2B was allocated by government for the revision of wages and salaries for this year in the national budget and if this was equitably distributed to workers it would result in a payment of no less than 12% across the board.
Yarde noted that in times past monies allotted for the purpose had not been fully utilized.
Though the union had not yet received any formal notification as to whether increases in wages were imminent, Yarde stated that he had seen reference to this in the media. However he said in many countries the union constantly heard of wage freezes, the inflation rate and other factors which were being used to deprive the workers of what they deserved.
He accused government too of misleading the International Monetary Fund into believing that it paid increases in line with the inflation rate.
“The government must respect the rule of law and collective bargaining and these matters concluded by that process,” he said, adding that it was the only decent thing for the government to do to spend the money as it proposed and for the purpose it had persuaded members of parliament to pass it.
Yarde mentioned that from time to time there were increases and entitlements for senior state officers which were adjustments to suit the realities.
“We don’t want that extravagance. All we want is for realistic allowances for the workers so they can do their job in the national interest.”
Meanwhile, General Secretary Chandrawattie Persaud who read the union’s press statement stated that over the years the union had been at pains to emphasise the important role public sector workers played in the country’s development and the provision of quality public services to the people.
She stressed too that the minimum wage being offered did not reflect the true reality since public servants with very limited resources continued to keep the wheels of government turning and were the key to the sustainable future development of the country.
Persaud said the union believed that its proposed increases were justified, particularly in the context of Guyana eradicating extreme poverty.
She further said that the union was concerned that there had been no increases in several allowances for public sector workers for the past ten years and therefore it was repeating its earlier call for increases in allowances.
Moreover, the union had already submitted proposals for inclusion in the National Budget Estimates of the public sector current and capital revenue and expenditure for the year 2010 to Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh.
The union in that correspondence proposed that the income tax threshold be $100,000, and the income tax rate be reduced to 20% instead of the current 33.3%.
Also, the GPSU has proposed a non-taxable allowance of $40,000 per month for dependents and an allowance of $50,000 each month for students who are dependents and are pursuing tertiary level education.
It has also reiterated its call for a reduction in the Value Added Tax to 10% and is asking too that mortgages for first home-owners be tax free, among other things.