GTUC accuses Govt. of distorting reasons for not releasing subvention to some unions

Feb 17, 2023 News

Kaieteur News – The Guyana Trades Union Congress on Thursday accused the Government of Guyana of deliberately distorting the reasons why it has refused to release subvention to some trade unions in 2022.

The GTUC in a statement said that only the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) received government subvention.

Subject Minister, Joseph Hamilton in response to a question posed by Member of Parliament (MP) Tabitha Sarabo-Halley, on why only one trade union received the subvention in 2022 though money was budgeted for all was told that efforts were made to receive financial statements from the other unions to no avail.

“All the unions were written to several times, simple question, simple request: give us a financial statement of how you are spending the money and they have refused and therefore, I am duty bound that until and unless they do like GAWU [Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union] that the monies will not be release to the unions we want to do it tomorrow,” Hamilton was quoted as saying.

However, the GTUC explained that the process regarding making a grant available to each trade union for educational purposes began under the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) government in 2015 with a clear agreement that each union will submit to the Labour Department its plans for training and monies would be disbursed to assist in the identified training and on completion of this exercise a report supported by a financial statement forwarded to the Department.

“The PPPC on assumption to office has discarded the practice without engagement with the unions. The PPPC regime laid new requirements which stated that monies will be disbursed for the execution of plans after the unions submit to the Labour Department an audited statement of their entire financial activities for the preceding year,” the GTUC said.

Further, the GTUC reminded that trade unions are guided by the ILO Convention No. 87:3 which expressly states, “The public authorities shall refrain from any interference which would restrict this right or impede the lawful exercise thereof.”

“In keeping the universally acceptable principles of non-interference in the trade union’s business the other unions have not acquiesced to the government’s dictate. GTUC therefore considers the Minister’s statement a deliberate distortion designed to mislead, to undermine the trade unions and the ILO Convention which the Government of Guyana is a signatory to since 1966,” the Union said in a statement.

Further, the GTUC believes that the government has “created an excuse not to release the subvention to some unions in order to deny some workers’ trade union education”.

The GTUC said it is aware that some unions that never conformed to the rules the government established for the GTUC and others were the recipients of the grant.

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Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), Guyana Trades Union Congress, Member of Parliament (MP), subvention, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley

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