NEARLY one week after the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) issued a 48- hour ultimatum to the Government to negotiate public servants’ wages and salaries or face “further action,” that union has sought support from key players in Guyana’s economy. 

While the union has chosen to adopt a different approach from taking to the streets as was done in the late 90s, a more cautious GPSU has decided to engage the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), and possibly the Private Sector Commission (PSC) in dialogue.
GPSU’s First Vice–President, Mortimer Livan, in an invited comment yesterday said that his Union is currently in dialogue with their members and will be approaching both the GTUC and the PSC. He confirmed that a panel discussion was held which included himself; GTUC’s President Norris Witter and the GPSU’s Senior Industrial Relations Officer, Dennis English, but he did not specify the outcome of the discussion.
Representing close to 20,000 public servants, the GPSU during its heyday in the 90s had called a series of industrial actions against the Government; those moves to industrial action were widely supported by public servants then. It could be recalled that in 1999, the GPSU successfully organised a 57-day strike which ended with a move to arbitration that gave public servants pay increases of 31.6 percent in 1999 and 26.6 percent in 2000.

However, that union has lost some of its clout as more recent strikes were affected by poor turnouts that meant very little for the bargaining power of the negotiating body. When Government increased wages and salaries in 2013 without support from the GPSU, the union called for protest action. This was met with little support as reports indicate that some 50 or so persons marched through the streets of Georgetown.
Recently, the GPSU joined with staffers of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to stage industrial action against the management of the commission for wage increases. This prompted swift action for dialogue, which saw an agreement forged between the GGMC and the GPSU.
Following the agreement, industrial action by the GPSU and GGMC workers still continued as the GPSU demanded across- the- board increases for GGMC staffers. The commission’s management agreed, following a second meeting with the Board of Directors, to approve the payment of an interim 8% for all staff for the fiscal year 2014.
The union, however, advanced a different position that would lead to the resumption of duties, and this was not supported by the GGMC management or the Ministry of Labour, the latter being the third party in the November 2014 negotiations for the end to the two-day industrial action.
After Government’s announcement of five and eight percent increases for public servants in 2014, GPSU’s President Patrick Yarde rejected the hikes, stating: “The arbitrary imposition of five to eight per cent is an insult, and is rejected by this union.”
While the GPSU has said that no negotiations were held for 2014 with the Public Service Ministry (PSM), Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon maintained, “negotiations have never ended,” adding that what has happened is an inability by both sides to reach an agreement.
Yarde then issued a 48- hour ultimatum for the Government to return to negotiations or be faced with “further action.” That 48- hour period has expired.
“A successful negotiation is achieved when the outcome is embraced [and] is acceptable to both sides,” according to Luncheon. “The course of the negotiation in 2014 has been somewhat similar to the course in prior years, where the differences [between the PSM and GPSU] are considerable.”
In an effort to explain why there continues to be such contention between the Government and the GPSU, Dr. Luncheon said: “I think where the breakdown has been occurring over the years is that the negotiations have failed to produce a response, particularly one that enjoys the support of both sides.”
The union has appealed to President Donald Ramotar to act on his promises. This position was expressed in a detailed letter to the President, dated December 1, 2014, wherein the union expressed “utter disbelief in the announcement.”
The 12-paragraph letter states at the 11th paragraph: “Unless you are prepared to honour your commitments and take action to reverse this travesty, you will leave us no choice but to stand in defence of our rights guaranteed under the Constitution of Guyana, as well as international treaties to which the Government of Guyana is obligated.”

(By Derwayne Wills)