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7% is no increase in face of rising cost of living
“Government, like its predecessor, appears utterly oblivious to the question of the minimum wage in the private sector which stands at $44,500 which is a complete disgrace in an oil economy,”—Article 13
…as civil society body slams unconstitutional, unilateral imposition
Kaieteur News – The unilateral imposition of a seven percent wages and salaries hike for public servants is no real increase taking into account the escalating cost of living and is in fact unconstitutional and in violation of the country’s labour laws.
Article 13 representative, Dr. Yog Mahadeo
Article 13—the recently formed civil society body, over the weekend weighed in on the announcement by senior Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, of a seven percent salary increase for public servants and government pensioners for the year 2021.
According to Article 13, in a joint missive from spokespersons, Dr. Yog Mahadeo, Ramon Gaskin and Jonathan Yearwood, increases in the cost of living of basic items have been running anywhere between 10 percent and 30 percent and that consumer prices at the end of the first half of 2021 grew by 5.6 percent.
Accordingly, Article 13 posits, the seven percent does not represent any real increase for public sector employees or their standard of living.
As it relates to the legal violations, Article 13 prefaced its position by pointing out that “once again, we witness the spectacle of the imposition of wage increase by unilateral action, as has happened for every year since 1999.”
According to the civil society body, this represents a clear breach of the Constitution, the Trade Union Recognition Act, the Agreement for collective bargaining between the Government and the workers’ unions, and ILO Conventions.
It was noted too that ‘tellingly’ the imposition also violates Article 13 of the Constitution which was elevated to a fundamental right under Article 149 C.
Additionally, the group said “to make matters worse, the Minister of the Public Service insults the intelligence of the nation with the fatuous excuse for non-consultation with the union that the government was pressed for time.”
As such, the group suggested that as a lawyer by profession, the Minister ought to be aware of section 23 of the Trade Union Recognition Act which imposes on employers a duty to bargain in good faith and enter into negotiations with [the trade unions] for the purpose of collective bargaining.
According to Article 13, “it seems that no one in this Government understands that collective bargaining extends beyond wages and salaries and includes other terms and conditions of work as well.”
To this end, the group submits that collective bargaining for the year 2021 should have commenced and coincided with the 2021 budget process so that it could be included in the 2021 Appropriations Act.
Senior Finance Minister within the Office of the President, Dr. Ashni Singh
It was observed that “…even if belated negotiations had taken place as part of the mid-year review, the two sides could have considered the fact that the growth in the Guyana’s economy outstripped that of any other country in the world.”
Addressing the issue of representation, the group highlighted what it deems, the poor quality of representation of public sector workers by incompetent and even absentee leadership.
As such, “our Group’s call for democracy and accountability extends not only to the Government of the day, but to the Opposition and to the trade unions.”
Additionally, Article 13 noted that it is surprised that the political opposition is now rejecting the imposition of wage increases in the public sector when it did the same while it was in government between 2015 and 2020.
In conclusion, the group was adamant that it is beyond time for review of the minimum wage in the private and the public sectors, particularly with respect to nurses, teachers, police and the army “who are in the frontline protecting our people and our territory.”
According to Article 13, “this government, like its predecessor, appears utterly oblivious to the question of the minimum wage in the private sector which stands at $44,500 which is a complete disgrace in an oil economy.”
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