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