Labour Ministry joins forces with UG admin

Feb 13, 2015 News

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– urges employees to return to work before negotiations continue
The Ministry of Labour has lashed out at the unions of the University of Guyana (UG) for not seeking its intervention at an earlier stage.
This is according to a statement issued by Chief Labour Officer, Charles Ogle, in a letter addressed only to President of the University of Guyana Workers’ Union (UGWU), Mr. Bruce Haynes, and carbon copied to Vice Chancellor Professor Jacob Opadeyi.
The Unions – the UGWU and University of Guyana Senior Staff Association (UGSSA) – had earlier this week requested intervention from President Donald Ramotar and the Ministry of Labour to conciliate a breakdown of negotiations for improved salaries and other benefits. Negotiations reportedly collapsed between the University’s negotiating team and the unions, resulting in the latter resorting to industrial action. And the unions have said that intensified strike action will continue until a resolution is realized.
But according to Ogle in his missive, “We take note of the current industrial action which was organized and executed by the Unions operating at the University of Guyana, Turkeyen Campus, and bring to your attention the following: While the Ministry of Labour did intervene in the 2012 strike and did participate in the brokering of Terms of Resumption, it was agreed that if the matters were not adequately resolved, the matter should have been taken to conciliation.”
“I wish to emphasize that those Terms of Resumption are not unending or indefinite. I do believe that there was adequate time to move those matters to the Ministry of Labour since 2012 if they were not adequately resolved at the bilateral level.”
Ogle observed too, that “when the Union perceived that they were not getting through in their talks with the University of Guyana administration, they did not seek the intervention of the Ministry of Labour, and proceeded, as a first resort, at the beginning of this semester with threats and industrial action in breach of all established industrial relations procedures.”
The Chief Labour Officer also pointed out that when negotiations resumed this year with the expectation of a full resumption of work, the “unions” rejected the university’s offers and instead escalated industrial actions.
He underscored that not only did they again not seek intervention of the Ministry of Labour, but they proceeded to continue industrial actions.
The Ministry, according to Ogle, is also unaware that the issues that have led to ongoing industrial action are the same that were part of the 2012 Terms of Resumption.  Moreover, the Chief Labour Officer has urged the unions to “Please note that this does not accord with good industrial relations practices, and while the Ministry has always been sympathetic to the interests of workers, we would equally request unions and workers to follow the normal and recognized industrial relations practices.”
As such, Ogle said, “notwithstanding, these apparent lapses on the part of the unions, the Ministry would like to have the issues in contention resolved to the satisfaction of both parties, and to play whatever mediation role is required in the process at the appropriate time.”
“We will ensure that there is no victimization of workers,” was the stated assurance of the Chief Labour Officer.
As the official response from the Ministry of Labour, Ogle’s letter went on to make a number of pledges, all of which will be benefited from on a conditional basis.
Moreover, Ogle noted that the Ministry is supporting the University administration’s call for employees to first resume work. “We have contacted the University of Guyana administration which is adamant that full resumption and normalcy must prevail before any meeting could be held with the workers and their representative bodies,” Ogle noted in his letter.
And it was expected that the workers would have returned to work at 08:00 hours yesterday, a notion that the UGWU and the University of Guyana Senior Staff Association (UGSSA) have categorically rejected.
Ogle nevertheless, pointed out in his correspondence that the call to resume work is one that is supported by time-honoured and established industrial relations customs, practices and behaviour. Had the workers resumed work as requested, Ogle said, there would have been “no break in service and the status quo ante will prevail.”
He noted too, that the Ministry was prepared to invite the parties concerned to have conciliatory talks following further negotiations with the University, if there is no resolution between the parties.
Moreover, the Ministry is calling for an immediate end to the strike action so as to allow the process of negotiation to commence in a situation of normalcy at the University without redress.

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