GPSU seeks clarity on ‘typo’ in Constitution regarding collective bargaining

Dec 09, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) is seeking clarity regarding an apparent ‘typographical’ error in the Constitution regarding the matter of collective bargaining.

The Union said that it would have noticed that where the law speaks to the protection of freedom of assembly, association and demonstration and the right to ‘collective agreements’, the law book however describes the engagement as ‘collective arguments’.

During a social media interview last month, President of the GPSU, Patrick Yarde had told the public that the Union was concerned about the change of wording in the constitution and brought the matter to the attention of the Parliament for clarification. He said that if citizens were to look at Article 147 (3) of the Constitution, the end of the sentence says, ‘collective arguments’. “I am very sensitive about anything that passes in Parliament about Trade Unions rights, and I can’t recall this ever happening, that they have amended collective agreements to collective arguments in the Constitution,” the longstanding Trade Unionist said. Yarde said that a letter was therefore written to the Clerk of the National Assembly regarding the change in language. “How did collective agreements change to collective arguments?” he questioned. “We want to know if it’s a genuine error or if people are going to such an extreme to tamper with Trade Union rights.” He said Article 147 is one of the legislation the Government says gives it the right in its approach to the Union.

GPSU President Patrick Yarde

GPSU’s Dawn Gardener, told the Kaieteur News yesterday that the Union has since received a reply from the Parliament and was informed that the matter was sent to the Privileges Committee. Gardner explained that the Assembly Clerk in his reply noted that “the matter had been sent to the Privileges Committee as they had not recognised the difference until it was brought to their attention.”

Gardner said that it appears that none of the Parliamentarians would have observed the change in wording. She said that the Union has also asked for copies of source documents, “and that is how we were able to justify that there was an error because they all are different.” Gardener believes there should be no challenge for the matter to be addressed, “because the records are there, all they need to do is correct it,” she said.

Article 147 (3) is one of the legislations the GPSU is using in its recent legal challenge to the Government to force it to adhere to workers right to collective bargaining. In March, the Union filed the legal suit against the Government for not observing various conventions, laws and regulations that ensure the rights of public service workers, and more specifically, their right to collective bargaining on wages and salaries. They claim that the Government is treating Public Servants poorly by imposing meagre wage increases and refusing to bargain with their representatives.

Yarde has argued that instead of meeting with Union Representatives for a decent salary increase for public services, they have engaged in a gifting spree, where some resources are concentrated in more places than others. “With oil revenue, the Government is like Father Christmas about the place, giving out money to people who they expect to produce, but the Public Servants who collect the revenue, who look after health care, who are dealing with all the projects in Guyana, and are relied on upon to make the Governments programs a success,” they are suppressed, he said. Yarde said with the handouts coming from the Government they can afford to pay Public Servants “much more”. “People are just quitting and leaving. Over 100 nurses may have left Guyana by now.”

GPSU said that Government must adhere to workers’ rights. Apart from the court, he said himself and Vice President Gardner will be again approaching the International Labour Organisation about the issue at hand. He said so far, they have met with an ILO in Trinidad. “We are also putting our case to the ILO. At every level that we have stated our position we were not criticized.” Yarde said the Union has in fact been praised for its efforts.