Latest update April 6th, 2026 12:35 AM
Latest News
- Gov’t rejected three cheaper Chinese bids to finance, construct gas plant
- Corentyne mom kills 7-year-old daughter, injures infant son
- Trump threatens ‘hell’ for Iran over Hormuz Strait as deadline approaches
- US$214M still with Exxon – AFC warns of quiet deal as audit dispute drags on
- Govt. launches border patrol unit in Region Nine
A useless trade union at the City Council
Jul 03, 2013 Letters
Dear Editor,
It is with sadness that I read the tales of the security guards employed by the City Council (KN/1/7/13). The unions representing workers at that organization are a waste of time; they are concerned about their own interests.
It is clear that, the workers of the Mayor and City Council have been left on their own. The unions which are expected to represent them have not shown any care for their plight. The Guyana Labour Union headed by Mr. Carvil Duncan has not been paying any attention to the many woes and sufferings of poor workers, for obvious reasons. They are left to fend for themselves, in every way.
During the tenure of former Town Clerks, that union was very active but with this government plant for a Town Clerk, Mr. Duncan appears to be very comfortable with the sorry situation at the council.
The executives of the Guyana Local Government Officers’ Union, headed by Mr. Dale Beresford, are more concerned with travelling to seminars than they are with the issues of workers welfare. Imagine, the government has imposed an incompetent person as the council’s Town Clerk. This individual has been subjecting employees to professional indignity. Refusing to pay overtime, for work done, deducting four per cent of officers’ salaries (no one knows what is happening with that money) and refusing to carry out lawful instructions of the council, yet the union does nothing about this situation.
So, workers are really left to the mercies of maladministration headed by a person who has no idea about what she is doing. As the slide continues union representatives are hardly seen. In some cases, they cannot be contacted by staff with issues. In several cases, this union had to be forced to take action in the interest of workers. What kind of union is that.
Workers should demand proper representation by the unions or ask the City Treasurer stop deducting union dues from their wages and salaries. The leadership of the GLGOU should be changed immediately because it makes no sense having a union that is doing nothing about anything at the council. It is better not to have a union than to have one that continuously disappoints and neglects its workers.
John Paterson
Discover more from Kaieteur News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.