THE Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) said that as the major trade union bloc it should have been consulted on the recent appointment of a chairman and members of the Trade Union Recognition and Certification Board (TURCB). It has also criticised the government for what it described as a paltry $500,000 budgetary allocation as compared to the $8M offered to the Guyana Trades Union Congress. In a statement the union said it “is gravely concerned that the Granger administration is already self-inflicting serious damage to its touted labour-friendly status and adherence to regulatory morality, even the industrial rule of law.”
FITUG pointed out that the procedures for the appointment of the chairman and members of the Trade Union Recognition and Certification Board (TURCB) are clearly laid out in the Trade Union Recognition Act (TURA). The act states, inter alia: “the Board shall consist of seven members, each appointed by the Minister AFTER CONSULTATIONS WITH THE MOST REPRESENTATIVE ORGANISATIONS OF WORKERS AND THE MOST REPRESENTATIVE ORGANISATIONS OF EMPLOYERS; three members appointed by the minister on the nomination of the most representative organisation of workers; three members appointed by the minister on the nomination of the most representative organisation of employers.”
According to FITUG, it is surprised, near to being shocked that, as the verifiable “most representative organisation of workers” in the country it was not invited as a body with respect to the instant appointment of former judge Claudette La Bennett as Chairman of the TURCB. “The previous board had expired at the end of June last and as the body which has to deal with all vital matters related to trade union recognition and ultimate certification as the official, justified and valid bargaining agent(s), in keeping with employees’ preference, it is expected that the legal transparency would have attended such an appointment. No such courtesy was extended to the FITUG whose thousands of membership dwarfs any affiliations the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) can claim.”
FITUG said it is now left to wonder just who will constitute the board’s next six members as it should be consulted before such appointments. “There are extremely vital matters now pending for the still-to-be-appointed board’s consideration and urgent transparency with regard to its re-establishment is crucial to labour movement democracy, the majority worker organisation is contending.”
According to FITUG, a senior official of the federation has also suggested that both the credibility and integrity of the Granger administration is being seriously compromised very early in its labour movement stewardship. “The stark, impossible-to-explain-or-justify disparity in the recent 2015 Budget Estimates allocation of funding to labour organisations which saw $8,000,000 being allocated to a favourite GTUC and just $500,000 being offered to the giant FITUG speaks volumes”, says the official. This does not bode well for a labour movement democratic future under the APNU-AFC regime. Rather, such arbitrary actions, which it opposed just recently, can lead to dangerous non-cohesion amongst labour’s representatives, is the FITUG’s warning. FITUG is a breakaway umbrella trade union body which over the years was given succour by the previous PPP/C administration. Last week, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo told a news conference that government had established several committees to partner with the trades union bodies and other workers’ representative organisations in its quest to ensure that workers’ rights are upheld, they are remunerated fairly and have a conducive working environment. Prime Minister Nagamootoo advised that Cabinet at its meeting on October 20, 2015 approved the appointment of the Board of Directors for the National Tripartite Committee, which will be chaired by Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection Simona Broomes. Members will include Minister of Social Protection Volda Lawrence, representatives of the Consultative Association of Guyanese Industries (CAGI), the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG). “This committee will deal with matters relating to industrial relations, human resource management and labour policies. We have now given this an institutional clout in what is called the National Tripartite Committee,” the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister has advised that, “We have appointed these entities to work along with the government and this board… very important features of the struggles of the working people of Guyana for trade union recognition emerged from the Trade Union Recognition Act chapter 98:07 of the laws of Guyana, and it concerns the procedures for certifying trade unions and recognised bodies.”
Cabinet has also appointed members of the Board of Directors for the Trade Union Recognition and Certification Board which will be chaired by Justice Claudette La Bennett and will include representatives from CAGI, the GTUC and FITUG. Nagamootoo explained that, “it means that if this body were to function effectively and efficiently, there should be no poaching, no renegade trade unions trying to impose themselves on the workers.” Workers under the laws have a right to pick a union of their choice and, “I believe this is one of the historic high points of the struggles of the working people of Guyana.”