– AG assures union leaders

IN keeping with the theme for Labour Day 2018, “Advancing solidarity; promoting employment and decent work,” Attorney General (AG), Basil Williams said decent work is what his government is aiming to provide.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) defined decent work as the aspirations of people in their working lives. It involves opportunities for work that is productive and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for families, better prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organise and participate in the decisions that affect their lives and equality of opportunity and treatment for all women and men.

Goal eight of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is to promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. With that in mind, government had embarked on a mission to provide decent work, said the AG during his address to a sizeable crowd at the Labour Day rally in the National Park on Tuesday.

As part of their effort, they have been formulating policies for job-creation which must take “centre stage” for any developmental plan. And he believes that a major aspect of job-creation is decent work which must be seen as a principle in the drive to sustainable development.

Although their plans are straightforward, he said they cannot do it without the input of the trade unions. “We recognise the importance of consultation; government is a firm believer of inclusionary democracy,” said the Legal Affairs Minister.
Williams said the input of unions is important, because workers, most times, relay their concerns to the unions before it reaches the government. “Labour relations should be conducted in the spirit of cooperation, so I am glad that the GTUC and FITUG joined together as one for the rally to advance workers’ rights and concerns,” he posited. The two groupings have restarted holding joint rallies since the change of government.
In the past, the workers’ concerns were not raised clearly because of the division in the trade union movement, but the unions have showed solidarity for two years and continue to grow. “We need to bridge the divide by working together to provide a vibrant and professional labour force to make us competitive in the global economy, and to harness and utilise the potential of our people,” the AG said, adding that the government has drafted an Industrial Relations Bill which will provide an “industrial code” to settle disputes.
The bill was sent to the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) for them to peruse before it is tabled in the National Assembly.

President of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU), Komal Chand, in his address said as bodies representing the country’s workers, “We cannot disregard the persistent difficulties which, for very many of us, have affected the quality of our life. Indeed, several challenges have surfaced over the recent years. We have observed that the prices of several staples have risen; there are increased rates and taxes; there is a threat of higher electricity costs on account of higher oil prices, and now there are increased water rates hanging over our heads. We can neither disregard the all-pervasive VAT, as it now affects a wider range of products and even essential medical services. In the face of these burdens, it is painful to know that our pensioners are given for 2018 only got an increase of just over one dollar per day.”

Sugar industry
He said Tuesday’s rally can also not disregard the plight that has befallen thousands of our fellow workers in the sugar industry. “Theirs would be yet another sad chapter in our country’s history. Over recent months, some 7,000 sugar workers have been sent home without any plan to address their welfare. Then to add pepper to the deep wound and contrary to our laws, some workers received only half of their severance payments and some others at Wales, none. For us this is one of the most callous of decisions ever made in living memory. Today, many of the workers who have been placed on the breadline remain right there, unable to find steady jobs and in some cases any job at all. The promises of saving sugar heard boisterously by persons now in government have proven to be hollow and empty.”

General-Secretary of the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), Lincoln Lewis, spoke to the issue of social cohesion, noting that according to the United Nations, this concept is built on the principles of Social Inclusion, Social Capital and Social Mobility. “These can only be attained when serious programmes are put in place to realise this.” Lewis said the cultural events, though important, are not the totality of Social Cohesion. “Neither is the planting of trees and painting buildings green the totality of a Green Economy. Social Cohesion and a Green Economy are built on principles that promote and safeguard fundamental rights and freedoms/Rule of Law and the environment, where the welfare of the people is placed at the centre.”

He said too that talks about a Green Economy will be only talk in the absence of respecting and advancing the principles upon which such an economy is built. According to Lewis, human development cannot take place in a vacuum and without regard to the structures and measurement to bring about this. “This notion that the discovery of oil and gas will be the panacea of the nation’s development must be revisited, for development cannot take place on a single resource; it requires the sustainable utilisation of all and government must put systems [in place] to make it possible.”

Lewis said too that development is also hinged on looking out for the vulnerable and indigent in our society. “We are seeing too many homeless and mentally challenged persons in the streets and something must be done to arrest the situation. Where such category of people find daily activities of living daunting, government has to lead the way in ensuring their dignity and respect.”

Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Gillian Burton-Persaud, said there have been many shortfalls, especially in the area of employment and economic development. Burton-Persaud claimed that thousands of workers were on the breadline because of the closure of businesses and the closure of sugar estates across the country. She called on workers and those who are unemployed to bond in unity in order to confront the challenges they face.
“We need an efficient and productive labour force; workers must be stress-free and have the ability to provide for their families,” said the MP. The AG however refuted her claims of increased unemployment, noting that the recent labour force survey found that unemployment dropped from 12.5 per cent to 12 per cent in the third quarter of 2017.
In addition, he said they have been working to right-size the sugar industry because it has been operating at a loss for many years. “We are trying to bring light and at this time we are right- sizing the sugar industry by diversifying and even cutting workers, because we have spent nearly one billion dollars a day on the industry since we came into office in 2015…despite all the challenges 11,000 workers are still employed with the industry,” he contended.

In addition, he said that government has been working to improve the livelihoods of all Guyanese and their recent decisions to increase the income tax threshold and wages/salaries are evidence of that.