GPSU says negotiations with Govt. at “deadlock”

Sep 25, 2016 News

The Guyana Public Service Union has reported that negotiations between itself and the Government of Guyana have reached a deadlock as of September 14, 2016.

GPSU President,
Patrick Yarde

The Union described the situation in this way because it considers the final offer being proposed by the State as unreasonable and unacceptable since there are several outstanding issues to be addressed.
According to the Executive Council of the GPSU which met last Friday, these outstanding issues are associated with public servants’ emoluments including de-bunching, increments and allowances. The Union said that there is serious concern over the seeming insensitivity and absence of a sense of urgency on the part of the employer to deal with the matters.
On a previous occasion the Union had described the government’s final offer as an absurdity for the same reason that it did not take into consideration de-bunching, increments and allowances.
The government’s negotiation team had said that these issues would be dealt with immediately upon the conclusion of the negotiations for wages and salaries utilizing the same process outlined by the union.
The Executive Council of the union has now taken the position that the government should be written to regarding these matters with a view to having them dealt with expeditiously.
Additionally, the Union believes that the government is defaulting on its commitment to have separate negotiations for wages, salaries and allowance for semi-autonomous agencies.

Permanent Secretary, Department of Public Service, Reginald Brotherson

The Union formed this belief based on information it apparently received that what is being applied in the public service is being replicated in the semi-autonomous entities.
At the meeting of the Executive Council, a unanimous decision was taken to engage the Chief Labour Occupational Safety and Health Officer of the Ministry of Social Protection and Department of Labour.
The Union took this position since it wishes to enter into conciliation in the matter of what is now a dispute between the Union and the employer in the matter of wages and salaries for public servants 2016.
The three components have always taken priority in the negotiations. The Union had made it known that its engagement with the government was to focus on the goals of a living wage for public servants.
The Union’s position is that these objectives, and no less, wholly inform their negotiating approach in the engagement. According to the Union, the de-bunching exercise should start immediately at the conclusion of the negotiations.
The format would be that after the first three years of service, one increment and for every additional two years of service, one increment.
On the issue of allowance, the Union had said that an agreement was reached with the Minister of Finance Winston Jordan since 2015 to commence the review of allowances paid to public servants.
To achieve this, it was proposed that a Tripartite Committee would be established comprising representatives from the Finance Ministry, Public Service Management and the GPSU. The Union believes that there is an inordinate delay in addressing these issues.

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News