Republic Bank employees and the swimming pool man

Nov 23, 2012 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

Mr. Kenneth Joseph, General Secretary of the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) told this newspaper (Nov 17) that his organization was seeking to unionize the employees of Republic Bank but my intervention stymied (his word) the process.
I hope Mr. Joseph realizes that the more exaggerated his description is of my involvement, the quicker will be the alienation of the Bank’s employees.
I received communication that NAACIE was facilitated by the management of the bank to speak to workers. My complaint to the financial institution was that it was wrong to engage NAACIE and not the other unions. The bank’s management agreed and accepted my request that as my union (UGWU) was part of the TUC, a TUC delegation can come and speak to the employees, not about choosing a union, but what they must look for in selecting their bargaining organization. I spoke to TUC President Norris Witter but got no feedback and there has been no movement since.
My position remains unchanged. The Bank should invite leaders to address the workers on what their respective outfits have to offer. My perspective, if I were to address the employees, was not to identify a union, but to be very careful about unions that are closely attached to the government of the day.
I see this everyday with the sugar industry union, GAWU, whose leader Mr. Komal Chand, has been in the PPP central committee for thirty-five years and its executive committee the past twenty years.
Since the beginning of 2012, I have had cause to address striking sugar workers in both Demerara and Berbice, and their accusations against GAWU have been horrible to say the least. All anger points in the direction that GAWU serves the interest of GuySuCo and the PPP Government. It is an anachronism that a union leader can be part of the leadership of the party that forms the Government. Workers should not accept this.
I believe if it wasn’t for the authoritarian nature of the PPP Government, GAWU would have lost its place to a challenger a long time ago.
Here now is a simple example of how safe the PPP Government feels with Mr. Chand.
Mr. Ralph Ramkarran merely suggested that the Government seek to do something about official corruption and was so insulted in a meeting of his party’s executive committee and so hurt that he resigned. Strangely we don’t see any anger with Mr. Chand over his union activities in the sugar industry.
The mistreatment of bauxite workers by Rusal has been met with complete silence by NAACIE and GAWU. Both unions know the Government, through former President, Mr. Jagdeo, takes a close interest in the Rusal operations. In Berbice, a German company aligned to Rusal, Oldendorff, makes the colonial rulers look like angels when you compare their mistreatment of workers and their contempt for the union, the People’s United and General Workers Union.
I travelled up to Berbice to speak to workers at Oldendorff and what I heard from those helpless souls put this country’s attitude to trade unionism hundreds of years back in time.
I challenge Mr. Joseph to let us go either together or separately and speak to the employees of all the branches of Republic Bank, and after our presentation, let them make their choice of who they want to bargain for them. I will tell them that NAACIE is part of FITUG, a trade union bloc that is shamelessly pro-government, led by shamelessly politically partisan leaders.
I will describe for them what I saw during the election campaign – GAWU and NAACIE participating in the PPP’s election campaign.
At the time I went to the Bank to speak to its management, Mr. Jagdeo was President and the entire country knew then that Mr. Jagdeo was so close to the owner of Republic Bank that DDL had to take GuySuco to court (it won) over the sale of molasses that was shifted from DDL to Mr. Lawrence Duprey’s company, Angostura. It was under this same Duprey and Jagdeo partnership that CLICO went down. There was no way at the time that Republic Bank employees would have chosen NAACIE.
Finally, should I appear in front of the bank’s employees, I will describe for them the swimming pool up the East Coast, by Montrose, of one of the top executives and honorary life members of NAACIE. Is this the union that the workers at Republic Bank want? I call upon Mr. Joseph to accept my challenge. And he can bring along anyone he wants from the PPP Government and/or Freedom House with him.

Latest News

Republic Bank employees and the swimming pool man

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | December, 2nd, 2024

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Dharry reigns supreme with second-round KO against Ramirez

Rutherford among nominees for ICC Men’s ODI...

Lumumba appointed Advisor to GBA

K&S/One Guyana National Futsal Championships...

Lewis, Gentle defend GTA One Guyana Open Tennis...

Zion Hickerson scores one-year sponsorship with...

Features/Columnists

Consent is not a veto

Breaking the Chains of Poverty: A need for political will

Barrels, boxes, and bills

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

Republic Bank employees and the swimming pool man

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | December, 2nd, 2024

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]