GPL workers protest for settlement on salary increase

Apr 28, 2021 News

Scenes from the protest yesterday on Main Street, Georgetown.

Kaieteur News – Workers of the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Main Street branch yesterday took to the street and protested for the finalization of their long-awaited salary increase.
This protest was triggered after the GPL directors reportedly received a 12% salary increase, while the senior and junior staff is still awaiting a final agreement from the company on their increase, even though negotiations commenced since July, 2020.
The discouraged workers lined up on Main Street, Georgetown, directly in front of that GPL office, and chanted, “We want 12% like the directors, ” “We want more money” and “Stop using our monies to buy fancy vehicles for the directors, ” as they held up placards with these same demands.
The GPL Board consists of eight directors and the Chairman, Maurice Gajadar. The Directors are Marcel Gaskin, Dr. Sixtus Edwards, Dr. Mahendra Sharma, Komal Ramnauth, Godfrey Washington, Nicolas Boyer, Shabeer Hussain and Alfred King.
The National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE), a workers union represents approximately 750 senior and junior GPL employees countrywide, while the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) represents the management staff of GPL.
According to Dawchan Nagasar, the General Secretary of NAACIE, the union is still awaiting a final agreement from GPL on the salary increase for the company’s subordinate employees.
During an interview yesterday with reporters on the protest scene, Nagasar stated that during July 2020, GPL sent a proposal to the union for a three years’ salary increase package. “They were offering at that time 5% for three years and we started negotiations.”
Nagasar stated that during November 2020, GPL asked for a paused in the negotiation because of the new government and new board members. However, before the government changed, the union and GPL discussed a proposed collective agreement which consist of 68 clauses.
Kaieteur News understands that the company agreed on 66 of the 68 clauses. The two clauses that the company has not agreed on, is the across the board increase for workers and the appraisal increase.
According to Nagasar, since then no contact was made to the union, until March 2021, after the union wrote several letters to GPL requesting a meeting. On March 22, GPL reportedly asked the union for a new proposal concerning the two outstanding clauses that were not mutually agreed upon.
Nagasar further stated that the new proposal that was submitted to GPL by the union is the three years’ salary increase package, which is 5% for 2020, 7% this year and 9% for 2022 and not the 5% that GPL had offered. GPL then informed the company that the proposal will be handed over to management who will then take it to the company’s stakeholders. However, since then the union did not receive any update concerning the two clauses.
Nagasar also told the reporters that the Union is hoping to get Prime Minister, Brigadier Mark Philips, involved, since GPL falls under his management. He also noted that the workers are very annoyed, out of patience and that the protest will continue until the matter is resolved.

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