General Secretary of the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), Lincoln Lewis, has accused the government of “trafficking in persons” in the wake of Wednesday’s mass protest of public servants.
“The transportation of persons from their workplaces, down the streets, having them repeat messages dictated to them and prescribing how long they stay in the boiling mid-afternoon sun against their free will, makes this government culpable of trafficking in persons,” he said in a statement read at a press conference at the Critchlow Labour College on Friday.
Lewis explained that trafficking in persons is a modern-day form of slavery involving victims who, among other things, are forced or coerced into labour exploitation which violates their human rights, such as freedom of movement and association, the right to accurate information and employment security.
Lewis made the allegation in the light of the mass demonstration of public servants from various government ministries. He said they were coerced into protesting after they were misled by senior government officials, who claimed that Alliance for Change (AFC) Member of Parliament Khemraj Ramjattan had proposed budget cuts which would put public service salaries in jeopardy.
GTUC called the press conference yesterday to educate the workers of their rights and urged them to bring an end to the disrespect by arming themselves with accurate information.
GTUC President Norris Witter said the GTUC considers what is going on in Parliament as acts of lunacy and recklessness, but was more concerned with the issue as it relates to the mass demonstration outside Parliament on Wednesday.
He said, “We considered that [protest] an action that was made possible through the coercive arm of the state. It is a sad day in Guyana and when the state is going to use [coercion] to mobilize workers against [what they say are acts of the opposition to deny those protestors their right to work]. [But that] is far from the truth it was an act of deception and was a very dishonest act by those state actors.”
He added that the current administration has set out to deliberately miniaturize and emasculate not only Guyana Public Service Union but all unions operating within the public sector by offering fulltime public servants contracts. He noted that it is very dangerous development and is not only an act denying the traditional public servants their rights to pensions but more importantly the right to have security of tenure.
“We are prepared to make a studied and informed response to this. The nation will be hearing much more of us on this issue and we are prepared to work with all the unions and other social partners to bring an end to this nonsense because it is denying the rights of the same workers,” Witter stressed.
Lewis said that fronting a picketing exercise with workers and not keeping their best interests in mind is another aspect of the never ending political shenanigans of “divide and rule to plunder and exploit” by the current administration.
He said if the contracted workers were presented with the actual presentation made by Ramjattan they would see that it was in their best interest and posed a threat to the government which continues to abuse both the workers and the state’s resources. He went on to say that the AFC’s position was not to cut jobs but rather ensure that employment in the public sector was consistent with public service rules and laws.
“In fact what transpired was wrong and falls within the purview of the ILO Convention on Forced Labour,” Lewis said.
He accused the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of having a track record of discriminating against workers on the grounds of race and violating public service rules.
Meanwhile, the GPSU said in a press release that it was “inundated” with telephone calls from its members who were told that it was mandatory for them to attend the protest action being conducted at Parliament building.
The union said it will not support any action that will result in public servants losing their jobs and pledged to vigorously and aggressively confront any development which may go in that direction.
The press release also stated that the union is advocating that permanent pensionable positions should not be occupied by contract employees and where this exists, persons who are eligible should be offered permanent posts through the Public Service Commission at the levels and salaries shown in the estimates of expenditure for each ministry.
The union stated that there were vacancies in the public service which were not being filled through the regular channel. Instead, it said, the government was hiring its supporters on contracts at salaries far superior to what should be paid for the positions.
Such employees are not guaranteed security of tenure, the union said, and the renewal of contracts is at the whim and fancy of the political directorate.
The GPSU said it saw this trend as politicizing the public service and compromising its professionalism and credibility to deal with the general public in a fair manner adding that at the same time it illuminates the security of tenure which is an essential element in the employees confident to the legitimate rules governing their employment.
It said the government was also coercing public servants to resign and reapply for contractual employment offering promotions as the impetus.
“The people of Guyana regardless of their political; persuasion ought to be at one advocating that that the public service of this country as is the practice in any free and democratic society, should be a career professional service that is credible and enjoys the confidence of the people and delivers quality public service,” the release said.
