GGMC strike ends, workers to receive payout

WORKERS of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) returned to work Wednesday following the signing of an agreed Terms of Resumption between the GGMC and the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), the union representing the workers. The agreement was signed on Tuesday following the intervention of Chief Labour Officer, Mr Charles Ogle.

The Chronicle was advised that Tuesday’s meeting chaired by Ogle was held at the Ministry of Labour, Brickdam office. The management of GGMC was represented by Board Chairman Clinton Williams and Commissioner Rickford Vieira and the GPSU President Patrick Yarde represented the workers.

RETROACTIVE PAYOUTS
While the details of the Terms of Resumption have not been made public and both the union and the commission are tightlipped on the specifics, this publication understands that the workers will benefit from retroactive payouts for the years 2013, which is equivalent to one and a half months pay, and additional payout for 2014 in keeping with the S V Jones and Associates recommendations.
The payout was one of the factors which caused the strike in November 2014, when an eight percent across-the-board increase was paid to all employees, and the subsequent follow-up action in January 2015. The 2014 payout is part of the compensation package proposed by the S V Jones Associates, following a job evaluation and human resource development survey undertaken in 2008.
The union had complained that though the recommendation had been approved by the Board and action was being taken by the management to implement it, attention was only being given to some aspects of the approved recommendation and no effort was being made to address the issues of salary increases for the workers.
The union had pointed out that the possibility existed for some anomalies being created by the implementation of the increase. They had, however, pointed out to management that notwithstanding those anomalies the payment should go ahead.
Labour Minister Nanda Gopaul had last week urged the parties to engage in meaningful dialogue as they sought to find a resolution to the industrial dispute. A number of meetings were also held between the GGMC, GPSU and the Labour Ministry officials following the action taken by workers.
The Labour Ministry had conducted an investigation at the end of which the CLO wrote to the union claiming the strike was illegal. Union President Patrick Yarde had replied to the CLO rejecting his assertion while other unions including the National Association of Agricultural Commercial and Industrial Workers (NACCIE) and the Guyana Workers Union (GWU) had registered their support for the workers.
Meanwhile, an assessment of the losses suffered by the Commission in the three weeks that the workers were off the job is still to be made.

(By Raymon Cummings)

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