GAWU seeks legal advice over wording in Tribunal report

Dec 17, 2009 News

The recent award of a three per cent wage/salary increase for sugar workers by an Arbitration Tribunal may be heading for troubled waters over a wording in a report which was handed over by the panel.
Yesterday, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU) wrote Chairman of the Arbitration Tribunal, Dr Gobind Ganga, saying that the union has recognized a problem in the report and that the Panel has failed to discharge its mandate.
“Our union recognized the Tribunal’s failure to discharge its mandate in that there is wide difference between the meaning “award” and “recommendation”.”
According to the union, the matter is now being referred to its lawyer for advice. As far as the union is concerned, the Tribunal’s mandate was to listen to both the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) and GAWU and award an appropriate increase based on the circumstances, not “recommend”.
GAWU referred to the actual wording of the report which makes the ward- “The Tribunal recommends an across –the-board increase of three per cent for 2009 which should be paid no later than the end of March 2010.”
According to the union, the mandate of the government-appointed Arbitration Tribunal is clear and this is spelled out in the report-”To enquire into the difference between the Guyana Sugar Corporation and the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union as it relates to wages and salaries to be paid to those categories of employees of the Corporation that are represented by the Union for the year 2009 and to make an award as the tribunal deems fit.”
The letter was also copied to other members of the Board, Minister of Labour, Manzoor Nadir – Minister of Labour; Yog Mahadeo – Member and Sonia Roopnauth – Member.
Since Thursday, GAWU and sugar workers have been engaged in protests over the recommended increase, which they say should be paid before Christmas. GuySuCo had indicated that it would be paying the increase effective January 1, 2010. The increase will cost the industry an extra $450M, the Corporation has said.
On Tuesday, workers continued their protest action in Berbice. While protests were held at the Albion, Skeldon and Blairmont, workers at Rose Hall, which is last grinding, downed tools and took strike action.
In November, wages talks had broken down between the union and the Corporation. GAWU was demanding 10 per cent but GuySuCo offered three per cent.
The Ministry of Labour had stepped in and had ordered compulsory arbitration to resolve the crisis, which had resulted in over a week of strikes across the country.
The Arbitration Tribunal released its report last week “recommending” the three per cent increase and giving the cash-strapped Corporation until March 31, 2010 to pay the retroactive wages/salaries.

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GAWU seeks legal advice over wording in Tribunal report

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