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GAWU to represent Berbice Bridge employees
GAWU President, Komal Chand (third from right), BBCI and labour officials displaying the signed Recognition Agreement, which was mediated and witnessed by Chief Labour Occupational Safety and Health Officer, Yoganand Persaud (second from right).
The Berbice Bridge Company Incorporated (BBCI) has signed an agreement recognising the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU) as its employees’ union.
The Recognition Agreement was signed Tuesday and has been commended by Minister of Labour, Manzoor Nadir.
According to GAWU, the long awaited Agreement will allow the union to become the bargaining agent for the Bridge’s 40-person workforce.
The union disclosed that in August last year, several employees of the bridge sought the approval of the union to become their representative union.
On September 10, 2009, the Union forwarded its application, supported by two thirds of the Bridge’s employees, to the Trade Union Recognition and Certification Board seeking to be certified as the employees’ bargaining agent.
“The Board’s approval was granted on November 30, 2009, but unfortunately the management of the bridge procrastinated to having the agreement signed for unexplained reasons which they seem to have sorted out.”
The Union said it will now fully ascertain the workers’ proposals and requests which they would want to constitute in a Collective Labour Agreement (CLA) and would submit the approved proposals to the company for the parties to negotiate.
The proposals, approved by the parties, will constitute the CLA.
“The Union looks forward to having a fruitful and productive relationship with BBCI and hopes that within the shortest possible time the Collective Labour Agreement would be in place.”
According to GAWU, this is the twelfth bargaining unit in the private and public sectors under the aegis of the union which represents 22,000 workers in Guyana.
In a statement yesterday, Minister Nadir urged employers and unions to sit and conclude multi-year agreements which will avoid unnecessary disruptions in production and will redound to a cordial industrial relations climate in the country.
In this regard, the Minister also commended the Clerical and Commercial Workers’ Union (CCWU) and Sterling Products Limited for concluding such an agreement.
The Minister said he is of the belief that the national industrial processes are working well and lauded the work of the Trade Union Recognition and Certification Board (TURCB) on the proactive manner it has been dealing with its responsibilities.
Recently the Guyana Public Service Union was granted a Certificate of Recognition by the TURCB to represent the workers at the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority.
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