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Technological advances must be adopted for trade unions to remain relevant – Pres. Ali at GAWU’s 22nd Delegates’ Congress
Kaieteur News – Trade Unions in Guyana must focus their attention on adjusting to the ever-evolving world by adapting to technological advances, President Irfaan Ali said at the opening of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union’s (GAWU) 22nd Delegates’ Congress held at the Arthur Chung Conference Center, Lilendaal.
He said failure to do so would see unions such as GAWU experiencing unique challenges. The Head of State emphasised the need for the Unions to devise creative ways to remain relevant in an ever-evolving and competitive world.
President Ali challenged trade union bodies in Guyana and the wider Caribbean to invest in addressing the changes while pointing specifically to the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the use of robotics.
“How can we remain competitive without adjusting or even relevant in this new world? AI, the digital economy and robotics, are upon us and we are seeing what this new reality can do and how it is rapidly changing things,” the head of state said.
President Irfaan Ali
GAWU’s two-day conference is themed, “Advancing Workers’ Rights, Economic Progress and Social Justice.”
The President noted too that this change will require collective effort and hard work.
He asserted that: “It requires changing mindsets. It requires building our competitive ability. It requires building the capacity and capability of our workforce. It requires the diversification of skills within the workforce. It requires the coming-together of our people under the umbrella of a common vision that will drive and uplift this country.”
According to the President, failure to address the changes now will lead to more inequality between countries and workforces.
“This is where the leadership of trade unions has to step up and advance work in these areas to avoid monumental change and consequences for workers in the future…. All of us have to take this responsibility of building this country seriously. This is the reality… This is the real world, the real environment. And that is why these congresses are important. It is to examine the reality of what we are facing,” President Ali added.
Even as he challenged the trade unions, the President noted that the Government of Guyana has already led the way by signing an agreement with the UAE to train 150,000 children in coding.
A section of the gathering at the GAWU Delegates’ Congress held at the ACCC on Wednesday
“The children of workers will not be at a disadvantage in this new world. We are building smart classrooms, we are teaching digitization now so that the children coming up will not be placed at a comparative disadvantage,” the President said
In the meantime, Ali promised to engage with sugar workers on a one-on- one basis to ensure that the concerns of workers are directly addressed.
Meanwhile, in his address, President of GAWU, Seepaul Narine lauded the President’s effort to uplift the working people and their families.
“Indeed, we are conscious of the efforts in this direction and were heartened to see President Ali highlighting, in a recent media report, his government’s commitment to “creating greater transferable value through investments, stimulating job creation, providing people with more disposable income, helping people to generate wealth…” Narine told the gathering on Wednesday.
He continued: “We fully support the admirable goals as they pave the way for a promising future. In today’s world, prioritising equity is crucial, and we are confident that the Government shares this concern.”
Additionally, the GAWU President told the caucus that [the] Union stands ready to engage the President and his team on the very important matters that would ultimately result in improving the standard of living of the working class.
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- advances, Caribbean, challenges, Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union’s (GAWU), Technological
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