Following the government’s failure to negotiate with the public service union on the announced 7% pay hike for public servants, civil society group Article 13 has joined in criticism of the Irfaan Ali-led administration for violating both local laws and international convention.
In a statement, issued by spokespersons Ramon Gaskin, Yog Mahadeo and Jonathan Yearwood on Saturday, the group lamented the continued unilateral imposition of wage increases, which it noted has occurred for every year since 1999.
It highlighted that the imposition is a clear breach of the Constitution, the Trade Union Recognition Act, the Agreement for collective bargaining between the Government and the workers’ union, and International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention. Added to that, it said the imposition also violates Article 13 of the Constitution, which was elevated to a fundamental right under Article 149 C. Article 13, from which the group takes its name, provides for the participation of citizens and their organisations in the management and decision-making processes of the State, particularly in those areas that directly affect their well-being.
Following criticism by the GPSU of government’s failure to negotiate, Minister of Public Service Sonia Parag has said that the government was “pressed for time” before it determined the increase.
In response, Article 13 said that as a lawyer Parag ought to be aware of section 23 of the Trade Union Recognition Act, which imposes on employers a duty to bargain in good faith and enter into negotiations for the purpose of collective bargaining. “It seems that no one in this Government understands that collective bargaining extends beyond wages and salaries and includes other terms and conditions of work as well,” it further said.
According to the group, collective bargaining for the year 2021 should have commenced and coincided with the 2021 budget process so that it could be included in the 2021 Appropriations Act. It argued that even if belated negotiations had taken place as part of the mid-year review, the two sides could have considered the fact that the growth in the Guyana’s economy outstripped that of any other country in the world, while increases in the cost of living have been running at anywhere between 10% and 30% and that consumer prices at the end of the first half of 2021 grew by 5.6%. “Accordingly, the 7% does not represent any real increase for public sector employees or their standard of living,” it added.
The group also criticised the GPSU, citing the “poor quality of representation” of our public sector workers by “incompetent and even absentee leadership.” It added that its call for democracy and accountability extends not only to the government of the day, but to the opposition and to the trade unions. Referencing the fact that the main opposition is now rejecting the imposition of the increases, Article 13 pointed out that APNU+AFC also imposed increases while it was in government between 2015 and 2020.
Meanwhile, the group also declared that is beyond time for government to review the minimum wage in both the public and private sector, particularly with respect to nurses, teachers, the police and the army who are in the frontline protecting the country’s people and territory. It added that the current government, like its predecessor, appears utterly oblivious to the question of the minimum wage in the private sector, which stands at $44,500. The group dubbed the minimum wage “a complete disgrace” in an oil economy.
