Minister Scott apologises to unions for “impotent” comment

Dec 23, 2016 News

In keeping with the spirit of Christmas coupled with unequivocal regret, Junior Minister of Social Protection, Keith Scott, yesterday offered an apology to representatives of the Federation of Independence Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) and the Guyana Trade Union Congress (GTUC).

The meeting in session yesterday. Minister Scott is seated as the head of the table.

The apology was nestled in the fact that the Minister, in the National Assembly on November 20 last, dared to share his view that both the umbrella union bodies FITUG and GTUC are “impotent”.
“This is regrettable…I take no pleasure in having to listen to that statement, but I take full and complete responsibility for saying so,” said Minister Scott as he alluded to his remarks being echoed in sections of the media.
The Minister in apologising yesterday added, “It takes nothing out of me to say unapologetically to the TUC, to the media, to FITUG, to the Parliament and to the citizens of Guyana, that I am sorry that I made that statement.”
The Minister offered his apology at a meeting held in the Brickdam, Georgetown Ministry of Social Protection boardroom in the company of several of his officers including Chief Labour Officer, Charles Ogle and members of the media. Accepting the apology were representatives of the GTUC, Lincoln Lewis and Leslie Gonsalves, along with Seepaul Narine and Kenneth Joseph who represented FITUG.
But the Minister in offering his volunteered apology questioned, “Who among us has never been liable for a Freudian slip? Who among us is infallible? Who among us can claim to be flawless? These are some of the questions which have occupied my consciousness during the past few days and nights.”
The two umbrella unions in a joint statement had condemned the Minister’s “impotent” remark emphasizing that “we strongly view it as a most distasteful and disturbing remark, about our organisations”.
“This most incredulous labelling by you (Minister Scott) of our organisations as “impotent” begs the question whether this is the level of regard that the Government has for the labour movement and by extension the workers of Guyana,” the statement added.
It continued, “As Minister, it is hoped it has not escaped attention that workers represent a most decisive force in our country. We wonder, whether your remark, as a representative of the Government, inadvertently conveys a clandestinely held view of the Administration with respect to the trade union movement.”
“The distasteful comment further opens speculation as to whether your utterance which is clearly contemptuous of a major stakeholder in this society with a constitutional right to exist – has informed your Administration’s decision to dismantle the Ministry of Labour, which is relegated to a department, headed by you,” outlined the statement.
But Minister Scott yesterday countered that the decision to have a Social Protection Ministry instead of Labour, is in fact the prerogative of President David Granger.
The statement further noted “We are disturbed by the continuous frontal attack on workers in view of their value to this nation’s development. For clearly a message is being sent by you, and it is hoped not representative of the Government, that there exists no regard for the workers of this country.”
“We call for clarification or an unequivocal apology if your utterance is not that of the Government’s position of the workers we represent, and where it may be important, to remind you they pay your salary from their toil and sweat, and in many instances, are left with what is not adequate,” the statement emphasized.
Minister Scott in apologizing yesterday made it clear that his remark “came solely from me. I made that mistake. I am the person who is solely responsible for it being made.”
The Minister underscored that while it was unfortunate that he had made the unfortunate comment, he insisted that “I have always been committed to trade union unity, trade union principles and the principles of brotherhood. This is why since I am in this Ministry I have not yet stopped assiduously pursuing the goals of trade union unity and everything I have done so far, and the records will reflect it, I have done everything possible to ensure that the unions are treated with respect.”
“I cannot explain anybody’s interpretation of my actions; I cannot move at a pace that suits other people, but once I am involved, I will go about things as I see how best to handle it, and so far out of the hundreds of matters I have arbitrated since I am here, very few remain outstanding,” the Minister noted, as he added “we have succeeded more than we have failed.”

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