Dear Editor,
There needs to be a Commission of Inquiry into how the Labour Ministry is resolving/handling disputes in firms that have no union representations.
I recently met with a senior Labour Officer complaining that my services were no longer needed but I wasn’t given any notice or pay in lieu. The employer was invited to what the Ministry called a confrontation – an ugly phrase. My complaint stated that I was not paid for the occasions I worked double shifts and my demand for pay in lieu. I was told I’m not entitled to pay if I didn’t work the remaining of the month. I quoted the ILO and OAS and CARICOM positions of Labour.
She briskly told me that Guyana has its own law and I’m only entitled to pay for the days I worked. I raised the point about that phrase in letters of appointments which speaks to either party terminating the agreement with notice or pay in lieu. Again, I was told I am only entitled to pay for the days I had worked.
Editor, I cut my teeth in the Personnel Department of Guyana National Newspapers Limited – Chronicle in the 80s. Thus I was aghast! I hadn’t heard that the Labour Law/Industrial Relations Law had been revamped, thus bewildered I went to the internet and researched the Guyana Labour Law CAP 98.01 and the section on Severance. It clearly states that except for termination for Breach of Contract, Fraud, Theft, and such injurious acts against the employer, the employee is entitled to notice or pay in lieu of.
This is my second encounter with officers at the Labour Department who accosted me on the issue of appropriate pay at the end of service. How could this be happening? How could Labour Officers not know the basic tenets of an employment engagement, or know and are bucking the law in the interest of unscrupulous employers? I can assure you that this is not isolated and that it has been happening to many other employees without redress because they do not know the Law and what they are entitled to under the constitution. Please tell me this is a nightmare I’m experiencing and I’ll wake and realize that’ that is all it was.
Sincerely,
Kim Sheron
