The world is changing, we’re being advised, but are we taking note

Dec 22, 2019 Eye on Guyana with Lincoln Lewis, Features / Columnists

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It is to the peril of those who don’t believe workers, as a single constituency, matter in an election and can significantly determine who is put in and out of office.
Two Thursdays ago, Boris Johnson was elected Prime Minister of Britain by a majority not seen in decades. His Conservative party won in areas considered the strongholds of the Labour party for decades, and in one instance almost a century.
Notwithstanding Johnson’s tendency for the theatrics and flagrant disregard for truth, the working class, which Labour always sees as its base, turned to him to deliver to them what they feel they are being deprived of.
There is no denying or debating others’ arguments that election had elements of xenophobia, etc., and Labour’s loss was a result of its failure to deliver a clear and convincing message, and counter the ills peddled by others.
Similarly, it cannot be ignored the political turmoil in the United Kingdom has to do with a section of the society wanting to leave the European Union, significantly driven by (mis)information that their interests are not best served through this alliance, and the working class is getting a raw deal.
The greed that led to the Global Recession, more than a decade ago, has not tempered neoliberalism. And where some governments have bought into this ideology, they disregard workers as the most vital resource in the productive, distributive and consumptive cycle of goods and services and deserving of respect.
Yet, without labour’s input – i.e. sweat and spending power – wealth, stability and development cannot be realised or sustained. These fundamentals continue to be ignored.
In light of the aforesaid, workers are responding to those who are taking them for granted. Recognising the power of their vote, they are using it as a bargaining chip. They’re no longer accepting that negotiating their welfare is confined only to the workplace, thus, no party/group can automatically count on them. Their votes have to be earned through promise and deliverable.
People vote in many forms – they stay home, spoil the ballot, give the vote to another or the one expecting it. Locally, some politicians have settled in, content to claim that traditional supporters have nowhere to go but vote for them, irrespective of.
To note, though the Conservative is considered the party of the entrepreneurial class, when Johnson realised the inroads made among the working class, he not only thanked those voters but said, “these votes are merely on loan,” calling on the elected Conservatives from these constituencies not to take workers for granted, and remember who they are elected to serve.
Then there is the United States’ (U.S) experience that shows a similarity.
Last Wednesday, with bi-partisan support, the House of Representatives approved the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Leading up to this vote, Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO (U.S.’ largest federation of unions) said: “Make no mistake, we demanded a trade deal that benefits workers and fought every single day to negotiate that deal and now we have secured an agreement that working people can proudly support.”
Unionised workers are traditional supporters of the Democratic Party. This constituency which voted twice for Barack Obama, in the last election, some voted for Trump on his promise that he’s better able to make trade deals that will benefit Americans.
It cannot be ignored a Republican president can claim this accomplishment, having worked with his political rival and evidently in some give-and-take. Both sides, having achieved consensus, have delivered to the citizens/workers what they have been clamouring for – i.e. working together and protecting Americans’ values in a global economy.
We live in a global environment. Guyanese are not immune to happenings in other countries nor are our minds impenetrable from being influenced by these. Our workers know the economy is poised for takeoff with the advent of oil and gas. They are taking note, wondering what is at stake for them and their families, and how this new trade will impact opportunities, their conditions of work and standard of living.
There exist serious problems in treatment toward local labour. The industrial environment is smouldering. There are grievances, going back more than a decade, still to be resolved. Promises made still to be delivered.
Collective Bargaining, a constitutional right, remains under attack for workers employed in the public and teaching sectors, GuySuCo, and the Bauxite Company of Guyana Inc. (BCGI). Anxiety and/or discontent among the aggrieved is/are growing. People are asking of themselves questions and of their colleagues.
In an atmosphere where politicians exploit fear of the other; foreign businesses use political division and ethnic tension to maximise returns as others use same to undermine our sovereignty, trample workers/citizens’ basic rights and dignity; where no clear message is coming from Government on respecting these rights and demanding of others likewise; where the Opposition sees indecisiveness or slow responses as weakness and as per their preliminary manifesto asking voters to give them a “chance,” promising respect for the right to Collective Bargaining which was denied workers when in office; and emerging parties are making promises workers find enticing, tell me, what would likely be the workers’ choice come next year, if the environment remains as is?
There is a global assault on established institutions, rights, values and constitutions. Concurrently, a fight is being waged to ensure their respect. Whereas some may be ignoring the ordinary man and woman, even seeing them as footstools or insignificant in the scheme of things, like the Republicans learned in the midterm and off-year elections, and recently Labour, taking this constituency for granted is to your own peril. The results of our last Local Government Elections showed similar signs. Some have excused the low turnout as characteristic of this type of election, even though losing seats in traditional strongholds.
Exactly a century ago the International Labour Organisation (ILO) was established after a destructive war “to give an equal voice to workers, employers and governments to ensure that the views of the social partners are closely reflected in labour standards and in shaping policies and programmes.” And where the ILO’s founding principle aims to create “lasting peace…based on social justice,” citizens/workers are taking a stand. They are doing this with their vote!

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)

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