Ram calls out Govt. double standards on treatment of trade unions

Feb 15, 2024 News

– says GAWU, NAACIE delinquent in submitting audited statements

Kaieteur News – Chartered Accountant Christopher Ram exposed what he said was government’s glaring double standard on the issue of accountability by trade unions, particularly amidst the ongoing nationwide teachers’ protest initiated by the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU).

Chartered Accountant, Chris Ram

Ram highlights a historical quirk dating back to pre-Independence days, where the Auditor General of Guyana audits the accounts of trade unions, despite the constitutional mandate for auditing the country’s public accounts. The record of audits for trade unions, according to Ram, has been far from stellar, with only a handful of audits for Unions like Guyana Agricultural & General Workers Union (GAWU) completed in recent years out of hundreds due.

In a letter published in the Stabroek News on Wednesday, Ram said notably absent from the Auditor General’s reports up to 2022, is any mention of audits conducted on the financial statements of the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) in the past five years, a union associated with the Chairman of the Trade Union Recognition and Certification Board. “Except for GAWU then, trade unions across the board have been delinquent about their audits and therefore their accountability. Yet, the Government has chosen to lead a campaign against the Guyana Teachers Union, not for a breach of the Trade Union Act but for daring to exercise its constitutional right to strike…” Ram stated.

President Irfaan Ali

Ram underscores the irony of the government leading a campaign against GTU for their strike action, while being, in his view, ‘serial violators’ when it comes to accounting and accountability. He accuses both the ruling PPP/C and the opposition PNC R of failing to submit required election expense statements, highlighting a broader disregard for accountability and the rule of law.

“That disdain is not only bad per se, but opens for all forms of unlawful activities, including money laundering, tax evasion, smuggling etc.,” Ram noted.

Moreover, Ram criticised the government’s stance of withholding pay from striking teachers. “While the President continues to avoid the single step that could immediately bring the teachers back to the classroom and the union leadership to the negotiating table – free collective bargaining,” he added. Ram concludes with a plea to the government to reconsider its approach, warning of the potential consequences of driving teachers away from the classroom.

“With all its intellect, information and negotiating power, the Government seems afraid to engage its own people. The people are left to choose whether this is arrogance, a denial of constitutional rule or cowardice,” Ram said. He continued, “Instead of doing his constitutional duty, President Ali asks teachers accusingly to “have a conscience”, as if striking for better pay and conditions is unconscionable. His refusal to have his government negotiators meet the teachers’ representatives is a sign that for him, the Constitution is either a piece of paper which he can choose to observe, or not to observe. That is not how democrats behave.”

Ram concluded that while President Ali is telling teachers to be patient and have a conscience, his administration is freely spending billions on poorly thought-out projects.

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Chris Ram, President Ali, strike, teachers, Union

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