THIS GOVERNMENT IS PRO-UNION

May 21, 2017 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

(This is the third and final segment of the speech delivered to the nation’s workers

Minister of Natural Resources, Hon. Raphael Trotman

on Labour Day 2017 by Minister of Natural Resources, Hon. Raphael Trotman for the Government of Guyana. In the last segment he had said that the Government was happy that “we have been able to fulfill many of the promises made in our 2015 manifesto under the heading “Industrial Relations and Labour Welfare”. He cited the restoration of Collective Bargaining with the Unions and raising the minimum wage portfolio for the public and private sectors.
Today we conclude his discourse. )

“The combined effects of these initiatives have positively impacted the lives of the nation’s workforce. Without doubt, trade unions have a strategic role to play in every democratic society, and we believe that it is time to adopt a new approach in the conduct of union-government affairs.
Having regard to the fact that Labour Day is Workers’ Day, these celebrations are organized and executed by workers’ representative including the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions (FITUG).
History has shown that the TUC has always played a critical role in these May Day observances. The TUC, as the record shows, was formed in 1944, and from 1951 it led the charge and maintained the focus of May Day observances every year. The theme which was chosen to mark today’s celebration, “Organizing: A necessary prerequisite in building a strong Trade Union movement” suggests that there is still work to be done. It tells us all that there is awareness that there is no time for slacking off.
I believe that all reasonable and right-thinking Guyanese will join me in congratulating the trade union movement, more particularly the GTUC and FITUG, for coming together to have one unified rally for the second consecutive year after so many years of separation.
Trade Unions are indeed the chief stakeholder in every initiative we have undertaken, but I am not sure that you have done all that you could to support and effect the level of change necessary for sustained economic development.
Comrades, I submit that it is indeed time to re-organise in order that trade unionism could maintain it relevance in this 21st Century. There is an abundance of evidence which indicates that the influence and effectiveness of trade unions are declining at an alarming rate in North America, Europe, Australia, Canada and Guyana, among other states. Unions are looking for other means of survival instead of relying on union membership as an indicator of the relevance, and for sustenance.
I find the following statement in the Canadian publication, the WINDSOR STAR, to be quite informative. Under the caption, “Rates of Unionized Workers falling; more women than men in unions”, the author, Carolyn Thompson said:
“Today a union member is slightly more likely to be a woman, and working in an office, school or hospital, while factory workers, miners and other blue-collar trades, have seen their union membership fall over the past quarter century”.
These observations are neither unique nor specific to the UK. They are equally applicable to many countries, including Guyana, where women make up a significant portion of the labour force. In a short while, we celebrate womanhood and motherhood on Mother’s Day, so the Government of Guyana takes this opportunity to again salute our women in the workforce, and say “Thank You for your labours which never cease, from the home to office, from field to factory”.
With more women joining the Labour force, particularly in areas which were traditionally dominated by men, trade unions have to prepare and align themselves to place and treat issues of gender discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace in positions of priority. These issues are all-important and they will not be side-stepped or swept under any rug.
We are particularly pleased to recognize that the current President of the GTUC is a woman, and it is my sincere hope that in the coming years, we will find even more women in high leadership positions within the trade union movement.
I thank you and may God bless the workers of Guyana, the Trade Unions and this dear and green land of ours.”

Happy 51st Independence Day greetings from the Alliance for Change to every Guyanese citizen. It matters not that you live within these 83,000 square miles, or outside of it in the diaspora. The AFC’s most fervent wish is for your continued good health and fervent participation in the growth of our nation state.

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