Press Release
The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) notes with serious concern the utterances made by President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, during a press conference held on August 2, 2021. The Union was not surprised by these remarks as it has been the hallmark of PPP Governments. Over time it has been noted attacks against Public Servants and the GPSU akin to executive lawlessness that has been etched in history. To mention, two examples of the many infractions: there was Comptroller of Customs, Clarence Chue, who was being denied the right to work, even though a High Court decision had ordered his reinstatement, which was openly ignored by the PPP regime and the 1999, 57 days Public Service Industrial Strike, which was provoked after extensive negotiations, when the PPP/C regime refused to follow procedures of the legally binding Agreement for the Avoidance and Settlement of Disputes, a situation which exists until today.
The Constitution of Guyana and several Laws, including the Labour Amendment Act of 1984 and the Trade Union Recognition Act of 1997, dictate the legal manner in which the Employer (the Government of Guyana) should negotiate. Additionally, there is a legally binding Agreement between the GOG and the GPSU for the Avoidance and Settlement of Disputes (referred to above), which outlines the procedures, which both Government of Guyana and GPSU must follow.
It should be noted that the Trade Union Recognition Act was enacted by a PPP/C Administration and successive PPP/C Governments have conveniently breached the prescriptions of the enactment. Governments, must understand that they are not above the Law and should be prepared to operate with dignity and respect for the Rule of Law by setting examples that all should follow. For decades PPP/C Governments have been deceptive and evasive, even sidelining the workers and their representative GPSU. They have repeatedly appropriated funds in Parliament to improve the earnings of Public Servants without utilizing the mechanisms provided in the Laws and binding agreements, a conduct and practice openly recognized by workers and their Representative Union.
It is important for all to understand the level of workers oppression with which the current Government is engaged, which takes away the Fundamental Rights to choose. The Ministers of Health and Labour indicated that the COVID-19 vaccines are not mandatory. However recent advisories to workers and the public indicate that unvaccinated persons would not be granted entry into the Ministries, unless an expensive precondition is met. This manipulative precondition strikes at the core of the peoples’ “wallet,” which of course would cause them to yield to Government’s demands for vaccination. The reincarnation of oppression is once again being imposed upon the people, taking away their fundamental rights as upheld by the Constitution. In this grand scheme, the COVID-19 vaccination programme becomes the tool through which unyielding workers would be denied the opportunity of earning or providing food for their families, access to public services, recreation and even shelter, since this draconian measure has been designed to make the unyielding penniless.
It should also be noted that while the Government finds the time to institute these elaborate, extensive and unconscionable schemes there has been no compliance to commence negotations for the increases in wages, salaries and allowances for Public Servants for the years 2020 and 2021. It is more than a year since the Government has refused to meet and commence these negotiation with the GPSU, the Workers Representative. Even though workers are faced with massive increases of the cost of living. The motive of the Government must be exposed.
While the world looks on, everyone knows that this Government is no different from previous PPP Governments. Except for the differing faces of its leadership, the conduct mannerism and methodology are all channeled towards Executive Lawlessness. Where are the CARICOM Leaders, the Diplomatic Community and all the other ‘so called’ pillars of strength, who were vocal and unyielding during the last General and Regional Elections? Do they recognise the challenges to the Constitutional and Democratic Rights of the people? Their silence on such an important matter is deafening.
The Government campaigned on a commitment to increase wages and salaries by 50%, yet since its installation this, merited issue has not been addressed or even given urgent attention. The President boasted of his Government’s first year successes, but forgot to give the workers kudos for these successes, given that Workers, not the politicians in Government, were the engines of implementation since there could be no successes without the workers. Mr. President, it is the dedicated, committed and underpaid Public Servants that contributed these successes, even though your representative team are vacillating on the future of these outstanding workers.