Govt. expands range of critical services

May 08, 2009 News

…Opposition sees threat to workers’ rights

Manzoor Nadir

From the time the People’s Progressive Party came to power there has been a complete paradigm shift as it relates to their traditional position of fighting for workers’ rights and their right to strike among others, according to Guyana Action Party Member of Parliament Everall Franklin.

Speaking in the National Assembly, Franklin said that he would like to see a division of votes as it relates to the Public Utility Undertakings and Public Health Services Arbitration (Amendment) Bill 2009.
The Bill, which was piloted by Minister of Labour, Manzoor Nadir, succeeded by a 31-20 vote.
When debate on the Bill commenced in the House yesterday, Franklin said that it was presented ever since 2006 and has been redrafted. The Bill was first seeking to rename the Principal Act.

The second clause of the amendments presented to the House indicated that the Bill was seeking to have the Principal Act amended by substituting for the words “in public utility undertakings and in certain services and to prohibit strikes and lock-outs in such undertakings or services”, the words “in essential services and to prohibit strikes and lock-outs in such services.”

He noted that a new schedule of essential services was included. Workers deemed functioning in the essential services will fall under: Any dockage, wharfage, discharging, loading or unloading of vessels or related service; any direct or indirect production, storage, distribution, sale, delivery or supply of potable water; any direct or indirect generation, transmission, sale or supply of electricity; any service essential to the continued provision of telecommunications; any health care or related service operated by – the Georgetown Public Hospital Board; any other public corporation established under the Public Corporations Act 1988; a public hospital; the government; or a local authority; Any air traffic control service; Any service provided by the Transport and Harbours Department or the Maritime Authority; Any service related to drainage and irrigation; Any cemetery, scavenging or solid waste services of a municipality and the marketing and distribution services of all petroleum and allied products.
According to Nadir, the Bill is slated to be all-encompassing.

Shadow Labour Minister of the People’s National Congress Reform, Basil Williams, told the House that Nadir had sought to present the Bill as harmless, when it fact it seeks to undermine the workers and trade unions right to strike and purports to parachute modern trends in a colonial archaic Act, given that the principal legislation was enacted in 1956.
Williams said that under the legislation that was being debated, the Minister must be given a chance to settle trade disputes and if he is unable to, then he sets up a tribunal board that is handpicked by him and that was the last resort.

The Shadow Labour Minister argued that in essence the Minister, by way of the new legislation, is undermining the some 80 per cent of Guyana workers’ constitutional right, “that is to strike.”
He noted also that the decision of the tribunal was final and binding, when in countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, the workers are still afforded an opportunity to resort to the court to challenge a ruling by an arbitration board as it relates to the settlement of trade disputes.
He added, too, that citizens cannot rely on a government armed with massive powers to use those powers in their (workers) best interest.

“The Bill and the Principal Act is repressive and illiberal…The Bill can be used to terrorize workers…We must ensure that legislation passed reflects justice.” said Williams.
PPP backbencher, Norman Whittaker, who spoke in support of the Bill, said that the various legislations tabled by the government were in fact aimed at protecting the rights of workers and was thus seeking to eliminate the need for a strike on the part of the work force.

Franklin said that he was surprised at the list of speakers on the government side of the House in that none of them “were in the trenches fighting for workers’ rights in the past.”
He said that former President Cheddi Jagan and his wife would not have upheld such a piece of legislation that eroded the rights of workers, something they valiantly struggled for.

Franklin pointed out that it was the constitution of Guyana that emphasizes that the country’s most important resource is its people in the workforce.
“For decades, Guyana’s patriots had fought for workers’ rights…but the PPP since coming to power and becoming the largest employer… there has been a paradigm shift….they now bring legislation to control the people they had fought for,” said Franklin.