Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) President Patrick Yarde yesterday called for the elimination of contracted employment from the public service, while arguing that such workers do not have security of tenure and this makes them vulnerable to pressure to do something wrong.
Yarde was at the time making submissions on behalf of the GPSU to the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the public service at the Department of Public Service building on Waterloo Street, Georgetown.
“Contracted employees operate at a disadvantage. Our position is that contract employment should be eliminated. They should go through a process that puts them on the permanent fixed establishment. The public service is a career service in which employees should have security of tenure,” Yarde said.
He further explained that while a person on the fixed establishment is in a stream which affords them the opportunity for promotion, a contract worker has no claim for promotion, since they are contracted for one post.
“The public service needs to be regularised and the contracted services which confuse and disrupt this system should be removed,” Yarde stressed.
He also emphasised that public servants who are faced with unlawful instructions must disobey them. “Disobey it and then let’s deal with the consequences. There are institutions in society that ought to be there to protect you,” Yarde explained, while noting that the acting chancellor has declared that the judiciary is the guardian of fundamental rights.
Yarde noted that “public servants should serve loyally and faithfully the government of the day with respect to all legitimate issues, however if there is an attempt of an imposition to do something wrong they should refuse it.”
Meanwhile, Yarde told the inquiry that for many years the GPSU has had issues when trying to negotiate with successive governments. He presented the CoI with a history of the union’s engagement with government since 1990s and noted that there is “resistance to allowing arguments and evidence” to determine what should be done. “We have always encountered this attitude of arbitrary imposition,” he added.
He said this attitude has, over time, contributed to the deterioration of the relationship between the union and the governments.
He referenced an agreement in 1994 to conduct a pre-audit of that year’s budget which was never honoured.
“In May, 1994, we entered into another agreement. We were convinced that the 1994 budget was done in a manner to siphon out monies to different things to avoid funds being available for adequate [salary] increase. After industrial action, we got the government to agree to a pre-audit by the auditor general of the 1994 budget, since we felt that allocations to do work was excessive. Although they entered into the agreement, they never did the audit,” Yarde said.
During his presentation Yarde also bemoaned the fact that “even when we go to court and get a court order, the government has refused to honour it.”
Asked to recommend a way forward, Yarde said there ought to be a serious disciplined culture when it comes to negotiating and implementing agreements and arbitrating disputes. These arbitrations ought to be respected and dispatched through credible methods.
Noting that the union has had particular difficulty with the selection of persons as mediators, Yarde said, “There seems to be a determination to focus on someone who will do your bidding rather than to identify professionals who would do a decent, scientific job that can stand up to scrutiny. There must be a clear connection between material evidence and outcomes for arbitration for people to have more confidence in the process.”
After two hours, the CoI Chairman Professor Harold Lutchman asked for an adjournment of the GPSU’s testimony until a later date when Yarde will continue to present on the 58 items of concern he has identified.
The CoI into the public service which continues today, was set up by President David Granger to inquire into, report on, and make recommendations on the role, functions, recruitment process, remuneration and conditions of service for public servants.
