Dear Editor,
Permit response to Seepaul Narine’s letter “GAWU does not enjoy any special treatment as is alleged” (SN Jan 12, 2022), in response to yours truly “I publicly call on Minister Hamilton to attend to the outstanding grievances languishing in the Ministry of Labour and on his desk” (SN Jan 9, 2022). I stand by every word articulated in my letter. Seepaul could not refute the fact GAWU enjoys preferential treatment, and instead sought to lay the impression GAWU’s success in gaining the Ministry of Labour and Minister of Labour Joe Hamilton’s attention to conciliate in industrial dispute is consistent with their Collective Labour Agreement (CLA). This is not unique to GAWU.
The Trade Union Recognition Act prescribes when a CLA is concluded it has to be countersigned by the Chief Labour Officer. Copies of the CLAs are then lodged at the Ministry of Labour. Each CLA has within, a Grievance Procedure which stipulates the timeframe for the handling of grievances. The Ministry is bound to ensure the resolution of grievance, or declaration, of a deadlock within the stipulated timeframe. The responsibility of the Ministry to ensure equal treatment for all unions, as prescribed by law, sees dissimilar treatment for trade unions and union leaders that are not considered friendly or aligned to the PPP government. Seepaul knows this. A few days ago the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) called for an ‘isolation day’ in response to concern the employer is not properly handling the COVID-19 situation in the classrooms, and fear for the spread of infection between students and teachers.
Instead of the Minister, who is the Chief Conciliator in the matter of an industrial dispute, moving to invite the parties (GTU and Ministry of Education) for conciliation, he hosted a national address berating the teachers. This same Minister is the custodian of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and is aware, under said Act, workers have a right to withdraw their labour if they feel the working environment poses a threat to their safety and health. I say without fear of contradiction, were a similar situation or concern expressed in any workplace, where GAWU has a bargaining unit, the Minister who upholds the Grievance Procedure in the CLA will move with alacrity to bring the parties to the table. The nation has witnessed this repeatedly, and most recently in the case of NAACIE and GPL.
In the matter of the Bauxite Company Guyana Incorporated (BCGI) there is no reason, other than another naked act of discrimination by the Minister, in refusing to resolve the several outstanding grievances with the Guyana Bauxite & General Workers Union (GB&GWU). Sitting in the Ministry is a copy of the CLA, and BCGI remains a legal entity in Guyana, carrying on activities in both Georgetown and Aroaima locations. Apart from the decade-plus industrial dispute with BCGI, workers have been shortchanged their Termination Benefits. The GB&GWU submitted the corrected calculations to the Ministry seeking their intervention to resolve the grievance. All that is required of the Minister is to activate the process of conciliation and bring the parties (GB&GWU and BCGI) together to have the matter resolved.
BCGI workers have given of their labour at a price, and where it has been discovered the employer has shortchanged them, efforts to have this corrected are being resisted by the Minister. I hope Seepual, by his letter, is not again seeking to absolve the government of its responsibility under the law and CLAs. My point remains, all workers and trade unions are equal under the Constitution and Laws of Guyana. The preferential treatment given to GAWU and NAACIE not only points to discrimination against other unions and workers but feeds the false perceptions these unions are superior under the law. The Government’s discriminatory policy is exacerbating working-class division. In our society that equates to ethnic tension and disunity. Again, Minister Hamilton is being called on to address the outstanding grievances with BCGI consistent with the CLAs and Labour Laws. Likewise, he should attend to the other industrial grievances occurring in the workplaces and those lying on his desk.
Sincerely,
Lincoln Lewis
