THE Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) and the Berbice Bridge Company Inc (BBCI), on November 16, 2022, concluded negotiations for 2022.
According to a press release from GAWU, through the agreement reached, workers of the company will enjoy pay rises of between nine per cent and 15 per cent. The negotiated increases are retroactive to January 1, 2022.

“Additionally, through our discussions, the parties agreed to revise the salary scales. Those workers whose earnings fall below the new scales will be brought up to the new minimum of the scale. This would see such workers receiving in excess of 15 per cent pay increase,” GAWU said.

Apart from wages, the GAWU and the BBCI have agreed that all allowances will be increased by nine per cent across the board.
“Through the agreement reached, arrangements regarding the scheduling of staff engaged in the retraction of the bridge on weekends and holidays were clarified and addressed. The issue of year-end bonus also received attention during the negotiations as well,” the union related.

The union and workers were both pleased with the outcome of the negotiations and the final agreement.
“The discussions, we believe, were cordial, respectful and frank and assisted in reaching a speedy conclusion. For their part, the workers are pleased with the increases secured by the union and at this time, the company is addressing the retroactive payments,” GAWU said.