…union says previous attempt under PPP was stymied

DECADES of negotiation and consultation between the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) and the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) have ended positively, with the union gaining official recognition status as the representative body for workers of the authority.

A Collective Labour Agreement/Memorandum of Understand (MOU), which stakeholders said was long overdue, was signed by GRA and the GPSU, on Tuesday, making the union the official bargaining body for workers of the authority.

“This was a long process and I inherited it when I joined in 2016 and the President of GPSU has been insisting that we sign,” said Commissioner General of the GRA, Godfrey Statia after signing the document at the Department of Labour.

GRA has a staff complement of 1,300 persons and of that amount, just about 40 per cent of the workers are covered by the union, said Statia. When asked what is the expectation going forward, he said: “It is for the union to do a recruitment drive…the union, in the past, had asked the employees to join but they (employees) recognised the union was not recognised, but now that they (the union) are official, there will be an upswing.
“There will be an additional level of representation because it used to be ad hoc representation…so with the union there, you expect there would be an improvement in workers’ welfare and efficiency.”

President of the GPSU, Patrick Yarde, in subsequent remarks, affirmed the union’s commitment to representing workers of the GRA, now that the agreement has been signed. “We can assure the GRA management that the GPSU will be professional in its approach and objectives…we will place emphasis on members’ rights, elevation and benefits. We will also look at the viability and development of the GRA,” said Yarde.

He was particularly excited by the agreement because the process had started decades ago when former President, Bharrat Jagdeo was Finance Minister. Jagdeo, prior to the establishment of GRA in 2000, had assured the union that their representation of the workers was guaranteed, and immediately after the authority became operational, the union had started consultations with the then Commissioner General, Edgar Heyligar.
And, according to Yarde, after Heyligar had left, his successor, Khurshid Sattaur was not receptive to the union. “A lot was done and even though I expected this to happen earlier than now it is still an achievement,” said the GPSU President.

Chief Labour Officer (CLO), Charles Ogle, congratulated the union and the authority for completing the agreement, but said anther Collective Labour Agreement, which will include conditions of employment, has to be signed very soon.