The executive body of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) has agreed to pay managers a 3 ½ % increase across the board by the end of May, and 2017 allowances by June, the Chairman of Guyana Public Service Union’s GPL branch related on Friday.
Chairman Walter George explained that the union and executive were able to come to an agreement on those payments during a meeting on May 4. He emphasized, however, that much prodding was needed before that meeting came to fruition, as, following a scheduled meeting on April 13, the executive had relapsed into a period of “procrastination”.
Nevertheless, the union is currently reviewing the agreement that came out of that engagement.
While the two bodies were able to reach a consensus over the aforementioned allowances, George noted that there are still issues outstanding, those being the matter of the 2016 allowances, as well as the incremental increases; matters which will be taken to the Chief Labour Officer (CLO) to be dealt with.
As it relates to the incremental increase, he explained that the executive did not agree with the pay structure for junior and senior staff, and so an interpretation of the clause would be sought from the CLO.
In April, Stabroek News had reported that GPL’s executive and the union representing its managers, which have been at odds over the negotiation of 2016 allowances, had agreed to move to the Department of Labour for conciliation to resolve that dispute.
