-GPSU says as it celebrates 101st anniversary
The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) is celebrating its 101st anniversary and is using the occasion to call on public servants to rise and demand a living wage.
In a statement on June 7th, the GPSU lamented the fact that it finds itself seeking justice for employees in systems that are increasingly being “weaponised and empowered” to erase the rights won by the previous generations of workers. “Many of our predecessors risked the safety and comfort of their families and even paid the ultimate price so that we, their children, can enjoy a more dignified existence.”
As such it noted that the onus is now on the current generation to uphold the principles of justice now enshrined in the Constitution, laws, as well as regulations and binding agreements. Further, union members must deal frontally with those who choose the “path of oppression” and in so doing complete the revolution started decades ago through tangibly enjoying those rights ascribed in writing. These include: 1) Check off agreements for union dues and agency fees; 2) secondment agreement of public servants to recognised trade unions/staff associations on a full-time basis without loss of service and promotion; and 3) the agreement for the avoidance and settlement of disputes, including wages, salaries and allowances.
The union warned, however, that given the nature of its struggles, members must expect challenges as they are now “doing battle” in an environment where fear is the principal tool used to subdue the minds of workers. It posited that the pursuit of collective goals is jeopardized when there is fear of losing one’s job for seeking justice, the fear of having the equilibrium of one’s family disrupted by acts of punitive transfers, as well as, the fear of one’s career being held stagnated or brought to an untimely end.
Further, it is the paralysis of fear which allows “the oppressors” to continue to employ their usual methods of political victimisation, discrimination, manipulation of democratic checks and balances within the systems of governance and the balance of power, as well as the use of the age-old ‘divide and rule’ tactics, to keep the lives of public workers under political control and within the realms of poverty.
As such, the statement asserted that the time has come for workers to take a stand. “The time has come, brothers and sisters, for Public Service Workers to cast out the conjured fear and break those invisible shackles and rise in unison to demand a living wage, brokered through collective bargaining and equal pay for equal work. The time has also come to demand the elimination of the covert political manipulation of the Public Sector through the appointment of political operatives, including political heads of departments rather than career Public Servants.”
As the GPSU celebrates its 101st birthday, it advised members that there are steps that must be taken together. “We must commit to developing the organization of the Union through the building of efficient branches oriented to pursue redress of worker’s grievances in a comprehensive manner. It is also important we dedicate ourselves to continuous training and education about the Laws and Proce-dures which govern Industrial Relations. Additionally, solidarity can only be built if we are well informed on the current information through efficient communication network systems.”
The GPSU had issued a strike ultimatum to the government but the union has since been silent on the matter.
On April 4, the GPSU announced plans to initiate strike action to demand improved remuneration for public sector employees. However, Minister of Labour Joseph Hamilton had responded that the union’s plans go against a pending court case. In a letter addressed to the Labour Ministry, the union said that it rejected the government’s position that employees must wait two years for improved remuneration.
At the time, union President Patrick Yarde criticized the government’s slow response to the issue and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo for allegedly stymying the process. Yarde had further argued that the union had no choice but to take drastic measures to achieve social justice and a better life for public servants and their families. However, since this threat, there has been no update from either the GPSU or the MoL.
On February 22, the GPSU had issued an industrial action ultimatum to the government, warning that if the government failed to meet at the bargaining table, the union would take industrial action to end the government’s breach of several agreements and laws. At the time, the union sought to address issues such as salary and benefits, and indicated that it had been pressing for collective bargaining without a response from the Public Service Ministry.
When the ultimatum was issued, Chief Labour Officer Dhaneshwar Deonarine responded that the court’s jurisdiction should prevail, citing a letter from the Solicitor General. The union had given no timeline for when it would take industrial action, but had said that it would continue to engage with its members and follow grievance procedures under the existing agreement.
