Public opinion should support public servants

Dec 22, 2013 APNU Column, Features / Columnists

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Guyana’s greatest post-independence public service strike which occurred in April-May 1999 left many of the issues for which the strike was called unsettled. The eight-week strike, organised by the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), was supported by four smaller unions – the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers Union; Guyana Postal and Telecommunications Workers Union; National Union of Public Service Employees and Union of Agricultural and Allied Workers.
The unions struck against the People’s Progressive Party Civic administration mainly to secure increases in wages and salaries. The strike ended with the establishment of an arbitral tribunal comprising Drs Aubrey Armstrong (chairman), Clive Thomas (nominee of the public service unions) and Gobind Ganga (nominee of the government). The tribunal’s award of a 31.6 per cent pay increase for 1999 and 26.6 per cent for 2000 delighted the public servants but disappointed the Government. The causes and consequences of the strike, not least the award, seem to have poisoned labour relations ever since.
The PPPC administration abandoned the Collective Labour Agreement with the GPSU and resorted to the unilateral imposition of wages and salaries. It has also frustrated and obstructed trade union representation by transferring public service employees to semi-autonomous agencies and by displacing traditional public servants with contract employees. The administration tried to strangle the union by eliminating its check-off system.
The PPPC allowed the appointment of the Public Service Appellate Tribunal to lapse. It ignores the International Labour Organizations (ILO) Conventions ratified by Guyana’s National Assembly that deal with Freedom of Association and the Protection of the Rights to Organise and Collective Bargaining. These are not accidental occurrences but a deliberate policy that disrespects public servants, disregards institutions and damages the Union. The PPPC and GPSU, therefore, have continued on a collision course for over two decades.
PPPC administrations from 1993 have always been unprepared to negotiate salary increases with the GPSU. The administration’s unwillingness to negotiate resulted in the several serious stoppages and strikes which had the effect of paralyzing some government ministries and state agencies.
An agreement to measure the impact of annual inflation rates on salaries and wages with a view to arriving at a sustainable policy was reached after the 1994 eleven-day strike. This, however, was never implemented.  The PPPC’s failure to honour this agreement and maintain its engagement with the GPSU, especially after 1997, was a contributory factor to the 1999 debacle and strike.
The PPPC administration must appreciate the need to pay public servants “a living wage.” Workers at the lowest levels who comprise over 75 per cent of the Public Service will see their salaries increase by less than $2,500 per month with the proposed 5 per cent increase this year. Public servants nowadays are frequently unable to afford to meet some of their basic household expenses, utilities and transportation. Many are obliged to borrow money even to settle day-to-day expenses. Many are convinced that they deserve a higher salary increase, particularly in the light of the high cost of living.
There is good reason for the public to support public servants. Guyana needs an efficient public service. The Government needs to attract well-educated, well-paid and highly motivated employees who want to pursue satisfying careers in the public service. There is no way that the Government’s current attitude will encourage ambitious young graduates to enter the service.
Support for public servants will protect, not damage the economy. The more successful the public service unions are in defending their members’ living standards and conditions of work, the better for the economy. The GPSU protest action, therefore, is not just for workers’ amenities today but for the future of the state itself.
The PPPC seems willing to respond only to agitation, not to arguments. The Union, therefore, at this stage of relations with the Administration, has no option but to resort to industrial action in order to call attention to its demands. The GPSU’s action is a reminder of the plight of nurses and others who actually do the work that matters most to our lives.
The PPPC must understand the importance of an efficient public service to the long-term administration of the state. It must, therefore, implement a comprehensive, strategic plan to improve the conditions of service of all public servants.
The PPPC and the GPSU need to move back from the precipice of perpetual conflict. The administration must demonstrate leadership by respecting the collective bargaining process, by reviewing the conditions under which public servants work, and by implementing a strategic plan to improve the public service as a whole.

 

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