The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) is seeking a meeting with the Public Service Ministry to have discussions on wages, salaries and allowances for this year, as well as other matters pertaining to the public sector modernization project.
The union wrote the Permanent Secretary, Public Service Ministry, on June 22 and the ministry acknowledged the letter on June 25, indicating that the union should reduce the list of matters submitted for discussion.
The GPSU has rejected this and is now demanding that the meeting be held in accordance with the requirements of the Avoidance and Settlement of Disputes which require the ministry to call the meeting in 12 days.
The union to date has not been informed of a date and time for the meeting and its Executive Council was scheduled to meet over the weekend to discuss and mandate further action that should be taken, the GPSU said in a news release.
Meanwhile, the GPSU is advocating that resources be made available to continue and complete the Public Sector Modernisation Project with specific focus on such aspects as human resources development; technology enhancement; implementing and maintaining established standards of occupational safety and health; general improvement of the work environment; filling of vacancies on the permanent pensionable establishment and dismantling the “parallel public service” by terminating contract employment and offering permanent employment.
The GPSU in its release also noted that in its correspondence of September 24, 2009 to the Permanent Secretary, PSM, it had submitted proposals for increases in wages, salaries and allowances, in a multiyear agreement for the period 2010-2012. However, since the submission the government has dealt with the current year’s proposals only.
According to the union, “after months of frustrating the negotiating process in 2010, they arbitrarily imposed an increase of 5% across the board in the month of December. Likewise the proposals for 2011 were treated with an increase of 8% being imposed before National Elections in November 2011.”
In December 2011, the release said, the GPSU revised its demands downwards and in a letter dated December 14, 2011 to Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, several proposals were submitted for inclusion in the National Budget for the year 2012.
In relation to salaries, the union proposed a 25% salary increase for 2012, arguing that remuneration increases should be based on factors such as “the annual rate of inflation and annual growth rate in the economy.”
The union maintained that remuneration must also “take into consideration the inadequacy of salaries when measured against the poverty line.” In addition, the GPSU is advocating that allocations should be made for the payment of increment in the Public Service, facilitating upward movement in pay bands and thereby “eliminating bunching of all employees at the minimum of the salary scales.”
The union said further that it also called on the minister to allocate realistic increases for travelling allowance; meal allowance; uniform allowan-ce; housing allowance; and other allowances which are part of the conditions of service.
The union also highlighted that it is of significant concern that allowances were not increased for over a decade.
In the meantime, the union has been calling on the government to make provisions/allocations to provide for realistic advances to public officers who are entitled to loans to purchase motor vehicles in discharging their duties. Meals allowance is also critical and this has not been increased since 1996, the union noted.
The GPSU further argued that tax reform was both needed and necessary and that the government should review the level of taxation on income and consumer items. It is in that context that the union proposed for consideration in the 2012 Tax Reform that there should be tax relief and tax reform; an immediate reduction in personal income tax to 25%; and an increase in the personal income tax to $1,200,000, the release added.
