Plans by the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) to begin industrial action Monday has its genesis in two factors. Firstly, the reluctance of the employer (i.e., Ministry of Education) to respect workers’ constitutional right to collective bargaining, and secondly, a misguided thinking by those in the corridors of power that an organised workforce poses a threat to society.
The GTU way back in August 2020 submitted a multi-year proposal to the Jagdeo/Ali regime and beyond the regime saying it will look at the proposal, nothing has been done to commence negotiations. So here we are in February 2024, with a workforce that is justly dissatisfied, whose rights continue to be trampled on but are still being asked, rather expected, to mould the minds of our nation’s children whilst their welfare is being ignored.
Lest it be forgotten, the trade union movement was the first mass-based organisation in this country (indeed, in the Caribbean). Its role has not only seen attendance to bread-and-butter issues, such as wages/salaries and working conditions. This was the organisation that first confronted the colonial establishment from the early 1900s-1905 to be exact – and engaged in activism for the holistic welfare of the working class – past, present and potential.
It was the trade union community that began raising mass awareness that workers’ welfare is much more than during working hours. It intricately linked welfare to issues such as universal education and healthcare, Landlord/Tenant relations, housing, universal adult suffrage, internal self-government, Caribbean integration, to name a few.
Trade unionism believes workers’ productivity increases and they reap the just rewards for their labour where they are enabled to play a meaningful role in shaping their destiny – today referred to and recognised in our Constitution as involvement in the management and decision-making processes of the State that impact their wellbeing. These could be specifically referenced in Articles 38, 147 and 149C.
The aforesaid foundational principles were put in place by Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow -national hero and Father of Trade Unionism in the British Commonwealth, at a Caribbean Labour Conference in 1926, held in our Parliament building.
The history of the working class has always been one of fighting for respect, to be considered equal and participating members of society, deserving of the benefits and protection of fundamental rights and freedoms, and just laws. The pursuit of these and the relationship with the political class (all of whom have working class roots) have not been absent of conflict.
Conflict is inevitable in any situation where two or more persons exist, given competing interests and foci. Maturity acknowledges this fact and the importance of engagement in a civil manner to ensure peace and harmony, be it the family, workplace, government/workers relations, as with any institution.
What the political forces also fail to acknowledge is that whereas they can vacillate, trade unions, guided by universally acceptable tenets, must remain constant. It is also not lost on me that sections of society have always felt the trade union has been used by the politicians to pursue their self-serving agenda. The perception, principles and reality the trade union has always had to confront, in an environment of growing intolerance by the political class and its uncritical pursuit of a neo-liberal economic agenda, is being targeted as foe not friend, and convenient vessels.
The trade union is not the enemy of society. Rather it is an institution that represents a working-class movement to ensure that workers are fairly treated, enjoy safe working conditions and appropriate benefits and remuneration commensurate with their jobs and qualifying conditions.
Workers’ benefits include, leave with pay, living wage, safe working environment, pension, health, education, family benefit and social benefits. Workers in Guyana also benefit from housing developing programmes that specifically target them such as TUCville, Stevedore, TUCberg and other housing schemes, which were specifically built by the trade union movement.
The trade union is also not an enemy of the employer. Unions represent workers’ interest and ensure their rights are protected in the workplace. The first tool of the trade union movement is negotiation. When a trade union takes strike action, which is a last resort, is a result of breakdown in negotiation and collective bargaining.
