General Secretary of the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) Lincoln Lewis yesterday railed at the cost of living and launched a blistering attack on the PPP/C government in which he accused it of victimising members of the former government and ignoring the plight of Berbice bauxite workers.
Speaking to the GTUC’s traditional May Day gathering at the Critchlow Labour College (CLC), Lewis called on the Ministry of Labour to push for collective bargaining agreements between unions and employers, as he flagged it is a key step to improving the conditions of work.
“Collective bargaining works to the benefit of both employer and workers because it cultivates a harmonious industrial environment which positively impacts production, productivity and the reward of labour. Look at successful unionized companies like Banks DIH, Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) and Sol. There are lessons to learn here – and I say this to both workers and employers,” Lewis said.
After a two-year hiatus because of COVID-19, workers turned out in their numbers to participate in the traditional May Day March before gathering at the umbrella body’s annual rally at the CLC though just a small number of workers remained for the speeches.
Leader of the Opposition, Aubrey Norton in a brief address to the gathering said they must stay committed to the struggle and fight for the means to live comfortably. He stated that while collective bargaining is one way to achieve better wages and salaries for employees, a national minimum wage assessment can also help the cause and provide better living conditions for workers.
“But while I am applying these positions, it should be obvious that we will only get it if we organize and struggle for it. Therefore I want to say to you that as a workers’ movement, organization is important. Struggle is important. You do not get a free lunch, we have to work for it,” Norton said to loud applause from the gathering.
Norton was joined by several other members from his party in the observances at the GTUC.
In his close to an hour-long address, Lewis said that the industrial environment has taken a turn for the worse as he claimed that the rights of workers are being violated by foreign companies.
He noted that employees are required to work for more than 40 hours per week but are not paid any overtime benefits and in many instances some are working under the conditions where there is no regard for Occupational Safety and Health regulations.
“It is of grave concern as foreign capital comes to our shores, the willingness of the government and others to relinquish basic rights for a mess of pottage, reversing this nation to early colonial days,” he posited before stating that a threat to a single worker is a threat to all Guyanese workers.
Bauxite workers
Lewis said even as they celebrate another Labour Day there are old industrial issues that remain unresolved.
He said that while workers from the sugar belt continue to receive the support of the Government, workers from the Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc, a Russian Aluminum (RUSAL) subsidiary are still waiting to have their labour issues resolved.
“As I stand before you, my trade union brothers and sisters, my heart remains in grief for those workers who under this government had their rights denied and suffered, but in particular the workers of the Bauxite Company Guyana Inc. (BCGI), who as of today have the longest unresolved industrial struggle in the history of post independent Guyana,” Lewis said, noting that successive governments had failed to resolve the matter.
According to him, there are letters lying on the desks of Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton and the Chief Labour Officer to bring resolution to outstanding grievances, including the incorrect calculation of termination benefits but there has been little effort by the ministry to address the issue.
Hamilton upon taking office had said that he was committed to resolving the grievances but he could not go to the bargaining table if the company is absent. RUSAL in January 2020 suspended its operations in the Berbice River after workers began protesting for higher wages and salary.
“(Former APNU+AFC President) David Granger had an opportunity to demonstrate he was a man prepared to see justice served but he dilly and dally until when it was close to election before his ministers reached out to address this injustice,” Lewis said as he spoke of the prolonged period for which the issue has been unresolved.
In his passionate plea for assistance to the bauxite workers, most of whom have been forced to seek alternative avenues of employment with some still battling unemployment, Lewis questioned the brotherhood and sisterhood in the labour movement.
“I call society to be your brothers’ and sisters’ keeper and raise voice in unity against this injustice. There should be nothing that divides the people of Guyana when it comes to justice and fair play, standing in the face of external threat, supported by internal forces. We must be each other’s keeper. Today it is bauxite; tomorrow it may be oil”, said Lewis, who is also the President of the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers Union.
He noted that workers from the sugar belt were given alternative jobs but the same approach was not taken to assist the workers of BCGI, a company in which the Government of Guyana has part ownership.
“I do not envy my brothers and sisters in GuySuCo, but I ask them- how in all fair conscience can you not recognise the injustices meted out to other unions for doing the same thing you would have done more than any other one in this country. Where is the brotherhood and sisterhood of the labour movement that has been sacrificed under the altar of political expediency?” he questioned.
He lamented the rise in the cost of living.
“Workers continue to give of their labour which is being devalued daily as inflation rises. There is little or no relief offered to help them in a structured, fair and non-discriminatory manner. Some are getting the hog of it all as others are given none. Some have been asked to satisfy conditions in order to receive as others have no conditions set. Don’t be fooled by the figures they put out that inflation has not risen by much. Ask the home makers. Ask the minibus and taxi drivers. Ask the shopkeeper. Ask the pensioners.
“And workers I ask you – How much can you buy with your dollar now, compared to what you were able to buy a year ago? This is not partisan politics; this is facing the reality of working-class economics. The working poor- which is what we have been relegated to- do not need an economist to tell them about inflation. They can see through deceit and phony figures when they go to the market”, Lewis stated.
He also cited cases where he said the government had targeted members and senior officials of the former APNU+AFC administration.
“Look what they are doing to former Finance Minister, Winston Jordan, who has strong ties to this country, placed on three million dollars’ bail and deemed a flight risk. Colvin Heath-London, who served with distinction in office, had his name dragged through the mud. Trevor Benn, another professional, was made a political target because he served under another government. Paul Slowe, former Assistant Commissioner of Police and past Chairman of the Police Service Commission, being held by his pants.
“That is not justice! It is political vindictiveness and efforts of this PPP government… to criminalise and place on the fringe of society a section of its people. The government is setting themselves up as a law unto themselves not awaiting judicial process but trying and convicting people in a court of public opinion. I send a warning to the workers of Guyana- life under this regime cannot get better if we the people do not know our rights and stand prepared to defend them”, Lewis thundered.
