SOME employees in the oil industry may soon be opting for unionisation following complaints of unequal pay between nationals and non-nationals.

This was revealed at a press conference of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) on Wednesday.

At the press conference, GCCI President Nicholas Boyer acknowledged that such matters were brought to his attention but he deferred direct comment on the matter regarding unionisation, stating his need for additional information.
“Right now, that’s a very tricky question for me to answer because there are some areas in terms of the oil industry and the employment here that are going well and then…there are some complaints of equal pay,” Boyer said.
He added: “There have been some discussions that there is not equal pay for people of similar background where the only difference is nationality. That, I have to do more research into before I can pronounce.”

He told the media, nonetheless, that the issue is high on his to-do list and the fact that he could not give a definite comment on the matter is not an attempt to avoid discussion.
“I want to make sure that I meet with the various agencies, so I have a very firm position and I believe in the position,” he said.

For a group of employees at an organisation to become unionised, they first have to approach a union and become members of the union which would then apply to the Trade Union Recognition and Certification Board to be recognised as the bargaining agent for the workers.

The board would then deliberate on the issue and would later conduct a survey to ascertain whether at least 40 per cent of employees at the organisation is in support of the union.
Should the criteria be met, the union will be certified to represent the workers in question.
Questioned whether the GCCI is in favour of unionisation, Boyer stated that this would be on the basis of whether it is proven that persons are being negatively affected.
“If everything is going well and my countrymen are being paid fairly and they’re able to not be at a disadvantage, I think there’s no need for unionisation,” he began, adding: “If I feel that my countrymen are being treated unfairly, then I can see the need for corrective bargaining.”

Pressed further on why it would not be best to stay one step ahead by opting for unionisation prior to the possible need, the GCCI President responded that the role of the chamber lies with “dispute resolution”.
“For us, organised labour is something that we interact with when there’s a dispute,” he explained.

Meanwhile, GCCI Executive and former President, Vishnu Doerga, suggested that the question of being proactive may be best placed to unions which may want to consider promoting their services to employees in the industry.

However, he added: “What we have found though, is that the condition under which people in that industry work are generally much better than what we have in any other industry in the country.”

For decades and all across the world, trade unions have been used as a means to represent the rights of workers with the aim of ensuring their needs are better represented to authorities.