GWU calls for removal of Income Tax, increase in minimum wage to cushion cost of living woes

Mar 26, 2022 News

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Kaieteur News – The General Workers Union (GWU) staged a protest action outside Parliament Building yesterday calling for, among other things, the abolition of Income Tax, the honouring of the increased minimum wage agreement and the distribution of cash grants to citizens to alleviate the high cost of living.
The workers’ representative group registered its disappointment with the State’s handling of the ongoing living increase issues and demanded that government make earnest efforts to aid those most affected.

GWU’s President, Norris Witter, is adamant that as Guyanese face this economically trying time, government must immediately honour the tripartite agreement that it accepted to raise workers’ pay from the minimum wage of $44,200 to $60,000. He said that ultimately, Minister of Labour Joseph Hamilton is responsible for ensuring that the agreement is honoured, since it was taken to the government for Cabinet’s approval.
“When this $60,000 minimum wage was agreed to in 2019, the Minister is on record on April 21 saying to this nation that his intention is to sign the agreement in the near future.” Witter said that in February 2022, the minister was again on record stating that all parties, which included the government, had agreed to the arrangements and that the matter was taken to Cabinet for approval; to be signed and placed in the gazette.
To date, this new minimum wage has not been available to citizens, and the union says it should be made available now. Additionally, the union is demanding fresh minimum wage negotiations since they believe the agreed upon wage increase has no bearing on the current cost of living.
Witter said, “that $60,000 that was agreed to in 2019 bears no relationship with the cost of living today. Therefore, what we are demanding is that the order to bring into force this agreement must be signed immediately and concomitant to that, new negotiations must commence for a new minimum wage.”
GWU also called for the abolition of income tax – Pay As You Earn (PAYE) -claiming that high officials and large oil companies with the means of making the required payments are exempted while ordinary Guyanese must honour those obligations that are discriminatory.
“By now the nation is aware that this multi-billion giant… ExxonMobil does not pay a cent tax to Guyana. The nation should also be aware that high officials within the judiciary who have the means to pay taxes, because they earn more than 30 percent of the current minimum wage, do not pay taxes also.” Witter reminded that it was just last November that a court ruling found that the tax exemptions to Chancellor of the Judiciary and the Chief Justice, is discriminatory and in violation of the Prevent of Discrimination Act Chapter 99:08, after the matter had been challenged by a judge.
“So, we are saying if ExxonMobil and high officials in the judiciary, including an executive, if they are not paying tax, then it is wrong, it is discriminatory for the poor and suffering workers to be subjected to taxation.”
On the note of ExxonMobil, GWU said it is also protesting in favour of renegotiating the oil contract Guyana has with the company. Witter said that if renegotiating the oil agreement gives Guyana its fair share of patrimony, the benefits would not only allow for the abolition of income tax, but it would provide a greater opportunity for cash grants to be delivered directly to the people. He said, “the State will have capacity to honour if not bi-annually, on a yearly basis, to give cash grants to its citizens as other oil nations are giving to its citizens.”
Furthermore, Witter called for the reinstatement of the collective bargaining mechanism that allows unions to negotiate various benefits for their members. Witter said that the collective bargaining agreement arrangement was discontinued under the previous People Progressive Party government and although the Coalition government had campaigned to reinstitute this avenue, they too denied workers’ representatives that right when they came to power.
Witter said that government has spoken to the high cost of living and believes that more must be done that becomes consistence with what is happening today. He said, “The indignity of poverty has visited us for far too long. In a land of abundant resources, which includes oil, no citizen should go to bed hungry.”
Guyana, along with the rest of the world is facing high food prices, service, transportation, travel and shipping costs as a result of the more than two -year long COVID-19 virus impact which has been compounded by the Russia/Ukraine war that has most notably, driven up the global price of crude.

 

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