AT the dawn of this new year, there was a letter in the press by Patrick Yarde, President of the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), addressing issues that are of serious concern to public servants and their union. These include the bad faith government continues to demonstrate in respecting the constitutional rights of workers to Collective Bargaining and the continuation of imposed wages and salaries. This disregard for Collective Bargaining by the PPP/C government was repeatedly condemned by the groups that form the APNU+AFC government, when they were in the opposition.

Citizens/workers were made to feel such condemnation was demonstrating respect for the constitution and labour laws of Guyana, ILO Conventions Nos. 87 and 98, and the importance of government setting the tone for how citizens/workers must be treated. In fact, the APNU+AFC when campaigning to get into the seat of government, none other than its presidential and prime ministerial candidates loudly proclaimed that under an APNU+AFC government, collective bargaining shall be restored.

As this recall is being made, I’m well aware that there are some who will seek to downplay the transgressing of the fundamental rights and freedoms of public service workers by arguing that under this administration the percentage of minimum wage increases has been significant. This is beside the point. You cannot deprive or find acceptance in depriving persons what are inalienably theirs on the pretext of monetary or material so-called reward.

As descendants of forebears who were enslaved and indentured, to accept such a notion is tantamount to accepting the dehumanising conditions under which our ancestors laboured and lived.  By the same extension, arguments by the enslavers and indenturers that our ancestors were paid or had a roof over their heads in exchange for their labour becomes acceptable. You cannot condemn the oppressors and fail to condemn similar disrespect in the period of self-government, for they both have one thing in common, i.e. the disrespect for fundamental rights, freedom and human dignity. Anywhere such exists the presence of oppression exists.

Talks about creating a professional public service shall never materialise when government holds to the view that there is human decency and acceptance in treating workers badly. The Commission of Inquiry into the Public Service impressed in its recommendations the importance of adhering to Collective Bargaining. And this is not only because it is written, but the spirit and intent that has informed its presence are grounded in recognising where workers feel their labour is valued and respected, they are more inclined to improve production and productivity.

People are not beasts of burden where you can whip them into subjection or direction, they will engage in acts of resistance which is a natural course of human behaviour when oppressed, marginalised or exploited. No government, organisation, unit or country can succeed where its inhabitants or participants feel devalued or disrespected. You have to treat people with respect as the principal incentive for good performance.

And this brings me back to the arbitrary withdrawal of year-end bonuses to the military and traditional public service. Though wages and salaries are relatively low compared to the cost of living, these workers could have planned around and added something more to their lives with that bonus. This incentive which was instituted under the PPP/C government is laudable and should have been retained. Any idea to alter or remove same should have had the involvement and consent of the stakeholders affected.

We talk about crimes and get upset with the Police Force when such spiral, and not without merit. 2017 was one of the most, if not the most trying year for the police since self-government. There were two major riots and several breakouts at the prisons, and some of the most dangerous inmates escaped. Going by the 2002 Camp Street Prison break and the deadly mayhem that ensued, this society was fearful of the possibility of a repeat.

Yet 2017 recorded one of the finest moments for our men and women in uniform. Citizens felt assured in the midst of chaos and uncertainty that they were on top of the crises. Statistical reports also showed a decline in serious crimes. If there was ever a time these cadre of workers deserved any bonus and incentive for their performance, given what they were able to achieve with very limited resources, 2017 was that year.

Government is still to appoint constitutional bodies. The importance of these can never be overstated, since they form the bedrock in the established system of governance in treating with the people and their welfare. Government, by its treatment of state workers, sets the tone for basic conditions of employment in the country. The private sector uses this as a gauge in determining conditions of employment for their workers. When government sets a positive tone, it creates a level playing field, competitive working environment, incentives to perform and sell one’s skills and talents in the workforce, aiding the process of development.

We have the issue of the productive sector, i.e. sugar and bauxite, where workers are being treated with contempt. On the matter of addressing the future of GuySuCo, the approach by the corporation and government gives the impression that there exists no empathy in the pursuit of what they determine, excluding the inputs of other stakeholders, is right for the company.

A case in point is that of making a number of jobs redundant and sending workers home without any indication as to when they will receive their terminal (i.e. termination) benefits. Whosoever  is advising GuySuCo and the government is departing from what is considered good practice in industrial practices and creating further bad blood. These workers should have received their benefits not later than the pay date that followed the company’s action.

The PPP/C is no better, having placed the industry on the chopping block years ago due to mismanagement, that included scrapping the Diversification Programme. Where the future looks bleak for sugar workers, the party’s leadership is seeking to project the image of the  knight in shining armour, being comfortable condemning what the government and GuySuCo are doing, offering no alternative or producing a plan, only the promise of better days should they win in 2020 as the workers are presently catching hell, which makes 2020 donkey years away and a promise to a fool.

With the matter of the Bauxite Company of Guyana Incorporated (BCGI) Guyanese labour continues to witness a government that not only has part ownership of the company, but is the custodian of the nation’s laws and protector of its sovereignty, showing no strength in reining in a foreign tyrant.  Seven years have passed since the BCGI foreign management refuses to respect the constitutional right of bauxite workers and the country’s labour laws. In opposition, this government condemned BCGI management and the PPP/C government for these violations and transgression.

The PNCR, under Robert Corbin’s leadership, brought a motion to the National Assembly condemning the PPP/C government’s handling of the matter. I sat in the public gallery during the debate and was impressed with the articulation of Raphael Trotman (AFC), Basil Williams and Robert Corbin (PNCR).  It is opportune to call on Corbin to remind Williams, as PNCR Chairman, Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General to advise the leadership of the PNCR as to the rationale for the party’s then position and action.

The coalition had campaigned that should they be elected, resolving the BCGI grievances would be high on its agenda. With what is taking place, I’m inclined to believe that in the face of foreign bullyism, the recent cadre of leaders in the PPP/C and APNU+AFC don’t have within them the balls that would have been in the small finger of the enslaved and indentured who fought against dehumanisation, oppression and domination. Ever so often we hear about some new or bigger oil find by ExxonMobil. The news is greeted with jubilation that the country is on the cusp of becoming well off and Guyanese stand to benefit from it.

Going by precedence on the handling of BCGI and the sweetheart agreement with Exxon, that includes indefinite tax holidays while citizens who paid their dues already are tasked with the responsibility to pay taxes from their miniscule earnings, we are in for some difficult times. It’s hard to be optimistic about the future if we don’t get up and speak out in the face of egregious acts and conduct. It must matter not who are affected by these or are inflicting them. We have a choice. Either we be prepared to band our belly for worse to come, or stand up and fight like real soldiers and our indomitable ancestors.

Finally, at leadership level — political, trade union, etc– you cannot want to treat people like lesser animals and expect of them higher thinking, such as their vote and putting their shoulders to the wheel to build the institution or country. There comes a time/point of nominal or no returns.