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Oil sector employees continue to face threats against being unionized – GAWU Head
Kaieteur News – Efforts are underway by the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) to inform local oilfield workers of their right to be represented by a labour union. This comes as employees within the sector continue to face threats not join the unions.
GAWU’s President, Seepaul Narine told Kaieteur news on the sidelines of the Union’s 22nd Delegate’s Congress held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) on Wednesday that many of the Guyanese workers within the oil sector are still afraid of unionization.
His statement comes more than a year after GAWU signed an agreement with the Trinidad-based Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) to offer support to locals employed within the sector.
Narine noted that while one of the main purposes of the agreement is for the two unions to merge knowledge, information and provide technical support to provide better representation to the workers, many local employees are not aware that they have a legal right to be unionized. He said, “Workers in that sector need to know their rights and who they can turn to in terms of representation.”
Narine said since the agreement was signed GAWU has engaged the Ministry of Labour on quite a number of issues facing the local oil and gas workers.
GAWU’s President, Seepaul Narine
“I commend them for their support because many of those issues we were able to send the workers to the Ministry to have them addressed through the Chief Labour Officer and the direct intervention of the Minister,” he told this publication.
According to Seepaul, the issues which were addressed include issues related to occupational safety measures within the workplace, remuneration, overtime, and annual leave.
The GAWU Head noted that in some instances oil companies are including in a clause in their employees’ contracts preventing them from joining the unions.
Narine disclosed that this clear violation of the workers’ rights has been addressed by GAWU and the Ministry of Labour.
He explained that, “The Ministry’s intervention caused the removal of that clause from the contract because in our laws, an employer can’t tell you not to be a member of a union…”
In meantime, Narine said that the Union will continue its efforts to sensitize workers on the right to representation.
Oil sector employees continue to face threats against being unionized
“Some of workers are still being scared away from the unions by their employers… So we have to do more awareness- we have billboards, flyers and so on telling them of their right,” he said
In July 2022, GAWU signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Oilfield Workers Union (OWTU) of Trinidad and Tobago.
Following the signing of the agreement, the GAWU President had noted that the Guyanese union hopes to leverage the OWTU’s vast experience in the oil and gas sector amid efforts to officially represent oil workers in Guyana.
He said the agreement is necessary, because oil workers in Guyana already face issues that include employers’ unwillingness to pay overtime and to provide appropriate Personal and Protective Equipment (PPEs).
In resolving issues of workers, Narine said one cannot only depend on the Ministry of Labour whether the government is friendly to the contractor or not.
“…It is only unionisation that will be able to take workers out of their difficulties,” he said.
Another challenge in representing workers is that different hiring companies source workers on behalf of the contractors. As such, Narine said that it becomes complicated representing the workers.
Notwithstanding, the Memorandum of Cooperation will allow GAWU to benefit from OWTU’s knowledge and skills in representing workers. The Trinidadian union has been involved in that country’s oil sector for some 85 years. Additionally, the Memorandum recognizes that collaborative efforts between developing countries are an essential prerequisite in stemming the tide and protecting workers.
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- Congress, Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU), information, President, Seepaul Narine
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