The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) on Tuesday blasted the government’s decision to give it only one seat on the trade union recognition board compared to two for its longstanding rival, the Trades Union Congress (TUC).
When the PPP/C government was in office it considered FITUG to be the most representative workers body and gave it two representatives on the Trade Union Recognition and Certi-fication Board (TURCB) compared to one for the TUC.
For decades, FITUG unions have largely been politically allied to the PPP/C while those in the TUC have been linked to the PNC and its successors.
At a press briefing held on Tuesday at the National Associa-tion of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees’ head office in Kingston, Vice Presi-dent of FITUG and Head of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) Komal Chand said that “let us don’t miss the fundamental part (which) is the numerical strength of each umbrella bodies that is taken into account to determine which is the most representative organization.”
Section 5(1 ) (ii) of the Act states that the board shall comprise seven members each appointed for a period of two years and with “three members appointed by the Minister on the nomination of the most representative organisations of workers.”
FITUG was also of the belief that cabinet needed to engage with the union body prior to naming the new Chairman of the Board citing Section 5(1)(i) which states “A Chairman appointed by the Minister after consultation with the most representative organisation of workers and the most representative organisations of employers.”
FITUG, comprising four unions: GAWU, NAACIE, the Clerical and Commercial Workers Union (CCWU) and the Guyana Labour Union (GLU), collectively represents over 30,000 workers, the grouping says. In a statement which was read, FITUG stated that trade unionism was being undermined with the government granting to the TUC one of the TURCB seats it previously held.
FITUG said that “the federation alerts the workers of Guyana and urges its affiliates to guard against the return of the days when seats and positions of the trade unions were handed down based on the union’s loyalty to the powers-that-be. The allocation of one seat to FITUG and two to the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) is a violation of the TURA.”
The statement added that “Section 5(1) (ii) of the Act requires the workers’ representatives on the Board to be nominated by the most representative organisation of workers.”
Chand stated that in addition to the number of workers represented by FITUG, GAWU alone brings 18,000 workers and 16 bargaining units and that as a group FITUG “want to believe that they (the TUC) have lesser bargaining units from us.”
President of the federation, Carvil Duncan said that since FITUG represents the largest number of workers it should have been consulted on TURCB nominations of two persons and not one.
He contended that the number of workers expressed as being represented by the GTUC was roughly 15,000. Duncan said after the press conference that the unions within FITUG have to meet to discuss the way forward while head of NAACIE Kenneth Joseph asked members of the media what they would do if placed in the same situation.
Duncan continued that “this is not the end,” although he could not offer any scenarios of how the federation hoped to lobby for their cause.
Meanwhile, GTUC General Secretary Lincoln Lewis in a response on Tuesday noted that FITUG’s interpretation of the law was inaccurate. He argued that the GTUC’s umbrella group comprised 13 separate organisations, well over the four represented under FITUG.
He told Stabroek News that it was the number of organisations represented by the umbrella groups that the Act was speaking of. Lewis noted that the unions in the GTUC included the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union, the Guyana Teachers Union, the National Union of Public Service Employees, the Postal and Telecommunications Workers Union (PTWU) and the University of Guyana Workers Union.
Lewis stated that the Inter-national Labour Organisation recognised the GTUC as the trade union grouping within Guyana that was most representative of workers. He provided a copy of a paper that outlined challenges to CARIFORUM labour which named the GTUC as the most representative.
Lewis told Stabroek News that he was not going to worry with FITUG and expressed frustration over implications of an imbalance. He stated that he was critical of the government, both current and previous because as a trade unionist his priority was worker rights.
Union cohesion
He said of FITUG “we are not here to fight them. Their problems are our problems.”
But while he lauded some of his FITUG counterparts, Lewis was not as gentle on Duncan who he said acted against the workers’ interests. He said that there were times when Duncan would heavily criticise unions making recognition applications that were not even shared by the employers.
“GTUC is comforted that it has two persons on the board and we will be overjoyed if Carvil Duncan is kept away from it…it was a joy working with Seepaul Narine who stands up for workers,” Lewis told Stabroek News.
In FITUG’s press briefing on Tuesday, Chand said that there is still hope and opportunity for FITUG and the GTUC to come together and create a common council. He said that “issues we find consensus on we can jointly support for the benefit of the workers and in the interest of the country.”
GAWU General Secretary, Narine told Stabroek News after the press briefing that although the cabinet made a decision on the board on October 20, 2015 and the board became functional with effect from November 1, 2015 FITUG does not currently have representation on the board.
Lewis will return as a board member with Eslyn Harris the General Secretary of the PTWU as the other GTUC representative. The board is now under the Chairmanship of retired Justice Claudette La Bennett.
On October 28, FITUG had expressed concern that the APNU+AFC administration was moving ahead with the constituting of a new trade union board without consulting with it.
FITUG said it was surprised that as the verifiable “most representative organization of workers” in the country it was not invited for consultations with respect to the appointment of former judge La Bennett as Chairman of the TURCB. FITUG said that the previous board had expired at the end of June last year and as the body which has to deal with matters related to trade union recognition and ultimate certification, FITUG said that it was expecting transparency in the appointment. It lamented that no such courtesy was extended to it.
