REORGANIZATION AND WORKERS’ RIGHTS

Jul 20, 2016 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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If the reorganization of the Guyana Revenue Authority is intended to achieve greater efficiency, then why was it claimed that the recent dismissals within that institution were due to problems with revenue collection as well as the poor facilities and conditions under which the staff have had to work?
If the reorganization of the Guyana Revenue Authority is intended to achieve greater efficiency, then why replace the most experienced customs person with someone who has had little or no experience in customs.
If the reorganization of the Guyana Revenue Authority is about efficiency, why send home someone weeks before he is due to retire? What about due process? Why was this not followed? If those sent home were not performing, what happened to their right to a fair disciplinary hearing?
If greater efficiency is the objective, then why send home the Human Resources Manager? Is that person not entitled to an explanation as to why she is being dismissed?
If greater efficiency is the objective, then how come a person who was recently under investigation has been placed to be in charge of the very persons who would have undertaken that investigation? What sort of efficiency is going to be achieved under such circumstances?
If reorganization of the Guyana Revenue Authority is about efficiency, then can efficiency be achieved by simply removing the heads of customs and the HR?
Workers’ rights have to be respected in Guyana. The power to dismiss cannot be exercised in an arbitrary manner. There has to be just cause for any dismissals. People must be treated fairly. Workers must be entitled to due process.
Due process protects workers from arbitrary dismissals. The International Labour Organization in 1982 promulgated a convention on the termination of employees. The Termination of Employment Convention of 1982 helps to protect the rights of workers in the event of termination.
The Convention provides that the employment of a worker shall not be terminated for reasons related to the workers’ conduct or performance; employment of a worker shall not be terminated for reasons related to the worker’s conduct before that worker is afforded the opportunity to defend himself or herself against the allegations made.
The fact that Guyana is not a signatory to this Convention does not mean that the principles which form part of this convention should be disregarded.
Persons are being sent home in other government agencies upon the expiration of their contracts. Unlike what may have happened in the past, there is no longer a reasonable expectation that once you work hard and honestly that your contract will be renewed.
There has been a lot of babble about creating a professional public service. The most fundamental principle in establishing a professional public service is security of tenure. For those on contract there is no security of tenure but there is an expectation that once they perform satisfactorily they will be retained. Well, that expectation is now shattered by what is happening within the public service.
The result of all of this will be a loss of morale. The most qualified of managers or deft reorganization cannot fix the problem of low morale of staff. If the West Indies Cricket team teaches us anything, it is that chopping and changing is not the way to build the morale of a team. It is counterproductive.
The new administration has been singing one tune and doing another thing. When it first came into office it announced that it wanted a professional public service. It said that persons who were candidates for their parties cannot be in the public service. Well, a few of those who were on the APNU+AFC candidate list are occupying senior positions within government ministries.
Workers in this country are going to get fed up and simply go through the motions until their immigrant papers are processed or until they can move to better jobs. Workers will mark time. Loss of production and productivity will result. People are going to use the public service as a bus stop to better opportunities elsewhere. Unless their rights are respected, they are going to use their public service positions to gain experience and then move on.
The public service is going to lose experienced personnel. There will be attempts to fill these gaps with retirees, and this will in turn create further frustration for young people seeking to climb the organizational ladder.
Reorganization for greater efficiency cannot be willed by chopping and changing. It cannot be achieved by replacing the experienced with the inexperienced. It has to be based on respecting workers, respecting their rights and affording them the standards that are consistent with such respect.

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