The Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) has noted with great dismay the government’s continued reluctance to engage in collective bargaining with the unions and is appalled by the one-off payment for public sector workers.
In a release last week, the GTUC stated its condemnation, “in the strongest possible terms,” of the announcements by President Irfaan Ali that public sector workers will receive a $25,000 bonus and certain categories of teachers will move in salary from the lowest band in their salary scale to the highest.
The GTUC did not hesitate to point out that the two announcements trample on the constitutionally protected right of teachers and public servants to engage in collective bargaining with the government through the Guyana Teachers Union and Guyana Public Service Union, respectively. In addition, the GTUC heaped scorn on the one-off payment of $25,000 (equivalent to US$125) describing it as an “insult and peanuts” for a class of people that year-long have kept the engine of government “firing on all cylinders.” Likewise, it felt similarly about the pay increase to certain categories of teachers.