Government committed to collective bargaining process, says Prime Minister

THE coalition government has committed itself to restoring and respecting the collective bargaining process, as can be seen from the fact that the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) and the Government are in talks on salary increases and benefits for public servants, Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo has said. The Prime Minister made these remarks in delivering the feature address at the fourth triennial congress of the Clerical & Commercial Workers’ Union (CCWU) at the Cara Lodge, Quamina Street Georgetown on Saturday.
The conference was held under the theme “Pursuing a new approach in this changing environment while protecting workers hard earned gains.”

The Prime Minister said the CCWU never thought that labour alone could have brought the results that workers want. He said the CCWU learnt very early that the economic struggle must be integrated with the political struggle for change, “or else you will just be fighting for bread and butter, and the people in power will always take the cheese away from you. Power is the ultimate goal of the worker.”

“…power also has the defining aspect that, as much as you can have it and you can exploit and suppress, you can use power to liberate and free up the human values, human creativity, the splendour of human life. If you have power, it can bring you the vista of new hope,” the Prime Minister said.

He said the right to collective bargaining based on agreement, entitlement and benefits have been won by struggle, and this should not be taken away.

CCWU President Sherwood Clarke said the existence of strong and vibrant trade unions is essential to the wellbeing of society, particularly at this time as Guyana reaches out in earnest to attract Foreign Direct Investment, which has the potential to attract investors who are not familiar with our industrial relations culture.

“Most of our recent foreign investors came in search of fast money in the extractive sector; and from my experience, people going after fast money are not angels; their presence most often demand an established social setting in which economic growth can be achieved within the framework of the culture and aspirations of the country in which they operate. Therein lies the role of the trade union movement,” Clarke stated.

He said this is why the constitution guarantees the right to trade unions to exist and envisage active and constructive involvement in all sectors of national life.

Adding that the labour movement will always be a prominent structure in the life of Guyanese, Clarke said it is therefore in the national interest that trade unions should flourish.

“Our unions have the capacity to realize our potential as national institutions with a creative power to influence constrictively the direction and quality of national life,” the CCWU President noted. This, he said, requires maximum involvement of all members in the activities of their respective unions. As such, successful unions require more than their members’ money, they requires their time, energies and talent.

He added that members need to take an active involvement in the work of the union at all levels.