THE Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) and the Mahaica, Mahaicony, Abary Agriculture Development Authority (MMA/ADA) signed a recognition agreement, paving the way for the union to represent workers of the authority.

“The GPSU is proud to be signing this recognition agreement with the MMA and as history will have it, this is not the first agreement because the union was once the bargaining unit for workers of the MMA,” said First Vice-President of the GPSU, Dawn Gardener during the signing ceremony on Tuesday.

The agreement, which was signed by representatives of the GPSU, MMA/ADA and Chief Labour Officer (CLO), Charles Ogle, gives the union bargaining rights for the workers of the authority. Gardener believes that the agreement is possible because workers of the MMA recognised the strength and ability of the union.

Going forward, the union intends on signing another collective agreement which should be finished before the end of the year.
“GPSU is willing and happy to work with the management of the MMA, to move MMA forward… we are there for development and here we are which can testify this is our intention, the development of the MMA,” said Gardener.

General Manager of the MMA/ADA, Aubrey Charles said the signing closed another chapter in the journey as it relates to workers’ rights and what the union stands for.
“We appreciate that because it helps in the development of workers, it has made workers more aware of their rights over the past two years,” said Charles, adding that the GPSU acquired the right to represent workers after a poll was held.

Workers would have made an assessment of which union they prefer to represent them and the GPSU came out victorious.

With the GPSU now in place, Charles said there are some issues which have to be ironed out, but he believes that it would be sorted out within the next few years. Ogle was pleased that the union and the authority were able to come to an agreement without the intervention of the department of labour. He said workers of the authority will now look forward to the benefits that will be part of the upcoming collective labour agreement.