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Union to seek legal advice on behalf of telecoms pensions
The Guyana Postal and Telecommunications Union (GPTU) is contemplating legal advice as it relates to the issue facing former workers of the Guyana Telecommunications Corporation, (GTC).
For more than a decade, former workers of GTC have been appealing to Government for an increase in their pension in accordance with the Pension Act.
Telecoms pensioners at a recent protest exercise.
“We are currently contemplating legal advice having exhausted all other avenues to have the concerns of the pensioners addressed. The proposal was made to us by a member of the civil society at a recent strategic forum on the way forward,” Harold Shepherd, President of (GPTU) said on Wednesday.
He explained that based on records the issue had engaged the attention of the union in 2004, but had been ongoing for much longer.
According to Shepherd, “The Union would have received a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2004 signed by Winston Brassington of National Industrial Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL).
“Union representatives did not agree with the MoU since it did not leave room for negotiations and would have allowed for ex-employees of GTC a pension of only $12,000 per month at most.”
Asked why the Union is considering legal action at this stage, Shepherd said that the issue is whether the previous executives of the Union had the pensioners’ best interest at heart.
“In addition, many of the pensioners wanted to take viable action since they were concerned that the court would be protracted. Some were worried that they might die without seeing the outcome.”
The most recent attempt to have the issue addressed was a protest exercise on Tuesday where more than 30 elderly persons, all former employees at the Guyana Telecommunications Corporation, picketed in front of the Ministry of Finance.
The pensioners called on the government to increase their pensions to reflect, according to the Pensions Act, two-thirds of what they would have worked for, and not the across the board $18,000 base that they are receiving.
The pensioners had started protest action on December 4 in front of the Office of the President.
In an invited comment, A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU) Joseph Harmon said that he fully supports any legal action taken by the Union on behalf of the pensioners.
“It’s sad to see pensioners protest. I believe they have the right to take legal action having explored every avenue available to them. The issue has been prolonged. They have every right to approach the court.”
Former employees GTC (now Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) after GTC was privatized in 1991) continued to work with the company when it was privatized, but have not received their pensions based on the salaries they earned, but were given the base minimum pension regardless of their status within the company at the time of their employment.
From cleaners to managers are receiving $18,000 monthly when “a technician should have been receiving a monthly pension of at least $50,000, while a former manager should have been the recipient of way over $100,000 per month.”
After the company was privatized in 1991 the letters of transfer would have stated that these former employees’ services would have been “continuous and unbroken” and that they would be entitled to all their benefits upon retirement.
The Union had written to former President Bharrat Jagdeo, President Ramotar, Dr. Roger Luncheon, Winston Brassington and Minster of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh, about the issue, and to date it still remains unresolved. Government has not honoured those letters.
According to Shepherd, those persons who terminated their services with GTC would have been paid their terminal benefits. Those that were age 50 and above in 1991 were allowed to retire if they so desired and they were paid their correct pension and over the years they would have received all the necessary increases.
However their colleagues, who retired after 1991, are not in receipt of their correct pensions.
To date, at least 12 ex-employees of GTC have died without receiving their correct pensions.
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