Who is pulling the strings?

Sep 22, 2016 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

The PPP and the PNC always professed to be working class parties. But both parties were allied to different sections of the bourgeoisie class.
The PNC and its ideology of cooperative socialism took this country the closest it ever came to being the next Cuba of the Caribbean. In fact, just before he died Burnham had begun to set the stage to implement a Cuban-styled system of neighborhood communities.
But behind all of that, Burnham and his party were closely allied to a family–based bourgeoisie class. There was always a group of rich families which were close to the PNC and which derived considerable wealth from the patronage and protection that they got from the PNC.
Very few people have asked how in an era when rum was making so much money that more companies did not emerge to compete with some of the local breweries and rum mixers. How it is that Burnham nationalized foreign-owned companies and drove local companies into bankruptcy but did not touch certain family-owned businesses and other companies? How come he protected them?
The reason is simple. The PNC though being a party which has a socialist ideology was aligned to a rich domestic business class. The PPPC was no different. It was also aligned to a local bourgeoisie class.
The reason why workers cannot be paid a living wage in Guyana, now or ever, is because of class interests. If the government pays a living wage, this will lead to an increase in wages in the private sector. The private sector in Guyana was built on the exploitation of workers. It cannot align its own ideology with that of a living wage.
The private sector will resist any wage increases because it will claim that such increases will make businesses uncompetitive. The private sector will argue and probably has argued before that if it has to pay significant wage increases, it will go bust. And perhaps it will because the private sector in Guyana generally has never handled competition well.
The government in setting its wages policy cannot ignore the effects of wages on the competitiveness of its private sector. The government would be naïve to want to do this.
Right now, wages and benefits in the public sector are higher than in the private sector. This is why so many persons are looking to work with the State. They want the high-paying jobs and the benefits that go with being a senior government employee.
Wages in the private sector are chasing wages in the public sector and this is causing serious problems for the private sector because even though they are far more efficient that the public sector, the private sector does not feel that it can match the increases that the government pays each year to its workers. They feel that large increases in wages will make the private sector uncompetitive.
The political parties cannot ignore how the private sector feels. The political parties need the financial backing of the bourgeoisie class. They need monies to finance their political campaigns.
Elections are not won by those who do a little running around here and there and come back to Guyana and get the big jobs with the government. Elections are won by election campaigns which require more than busybodies.
Election campaigns requite money and that money comes from those with the money. Those with the money hardly give anything for free. After the elections, they come asking for their pound of flesh.
The bourgeoisie class is no different. It may not always ask for a direct return on its ‘investment’. It may simply ask for influence – to pull the strings behind the scenes.
Those persons may already be pointing out to the government the effects of large wage increases on the ability to compete. The government can and has never ignored their concerns. This is why the tug-o-war over wages will continue for a long time to come.

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Who is pulling the strings?

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