GLU to ‘escalate’ industrial actions

Sep 18, 2008 News

…‘workers cannot take ‘nationality’ to store for food’ – Duncan

GLU General Secretary Carvil Duncan

The Guyana Labour Union will escalate its actions once City Constables are not paid, according to General Secretary of the Union, Cavil Duncan, who was responding to claims by the Mayor and City Council that the decision by the union to engage workers in protest action is ‘unpatriotic and anti-national.’

“People cannot take nationality to the store to purchase food nor can they give it to the minibus conductors. It’s a bread and butter issue,” Duncan said. He told Kaieteur News that all constables are on a ‘work to rule’ status.

Duncan pointed out to this newspaper that all constables, both senior and junior, should be treated with the same regards in terms of their salaries structure.

Yesterday, the Mayor and City Council said that it had made a decision at its statutory meeting on September 8 last, that the site must be cleared of all unauthorized persons.

This most recent move by the union, the Council stated, is quite irresponsible and seeks to compromise the health and well being of the citizens of Georgetown, who would have suffered recently from emission from the landfill site.

The union, the Council said, yesterday made attempts to remove more constables, who are part of a special arrangement to provide security to some very sensitive areas.

A decision was taken by the union to have the constables turn up to work without doing anything in particular, since no decision was taken to have their allowances paid to them.

The General Secretary of the GLU told Kaieteur News on Tuesday that the constables’ salaries are linked to the police salaries.

This means, he said, that whatever increases the police get should automatically be reflected in the salaries of the City Constables.

According to Duncan, the City Constables were paid a five percent increase on their salaries, retroactive to January last and ending in May.

However, they are yet to be paid the increase for the months that followed, along with their temporary living allowance which President Bharrat Jagdeo has given.

According to the GLU General Secretary, he has also given City Hall an ultimatum for all workers who have not received an increase since 2007.

Should there not be any response on this issue within 72 hours, Duncan said, all City Council workers would go on strike.

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