Political analyst and former government minister, Dr Henry Jeffrey said no government in a liberal democracy has the right to decide on its own what public servants earn.
In fact, he said the Constitution of Guyana dictates the right to trade unions and collective bargaining.
During his appearance on the live online programme Politics 101 with Dr. David Hinds Tuesday, Dr Jeffery hammered the PPP Administration for its reluctance to meet with the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) to work out a package that would ensure teachers earn a livable wage.
“Don’t let the PPP tell you nonsense, nothing is illegal. The constitution gives you a right to trade union. While the constitution gives you a right to trade union, it means that the government got to deal with the trade union.
In liberal democracies the trade unions fight for what the workers want and if we can’t agree then we go to arbitration,” he told online viewers.
His comments came as the GTU continued its countrywide strike for increased wages, allowances and collective bargaining.
The union has been clamoring for improved wages and an opportunity to meet with the government to work out its multi-year agreement for teachers which came to an end in 2019 under the former government. Almost four years into its tenure, the PPP Administration has failed to meet the teachers’ representative.
“The constitution is clear , people have a right to trade unions and trade unions have a right to bargain for the people and you have a right to sit down at the bargaining table and until then you are breaking the laws of Guyana in a fundamental way.
Who gives the Government of Guyana the unilateral right to determine the salary of trade unions? The constitution provides for the right of the trade union, you have to sit down and if you can’t agree you go to arbitration.”
Dr Jeffery said any trade union that cannot strike is no trade union at all.
Talks by government to cut the salaries of teachers on strike was also shut down by Dr Jeffrey.
The government has threatened to cut teachers’ salaries and has already discontinued the collection of dues from teachers to the union.
The countrywide strike has been building momentum across ethnic and social lines and in areas considered strong-holds of the government. According to Dr Jeffrey, this demonstrates an awakening among the people that the country’s oil resources should be equally distributed to all Guyanese.
“When you start telling ordinary people they are rich and you are splashing and splurging and they cannot go and buy a cucumber on the road, what do you think will happen?”
Meanwhile, the opposition APNU said it understands the challenges faced by teachers and is committed to reversing all punitive measures instituted by the government to ensure their rights and welfare are upheld and improved.
“We recognise the importance of collective bargaining and will respect the legitimate representation of teachers through the Guyana Teachers’ Union. It is unacceptable that the Ministry of Education has neglected the union’s concerns and attempts to undermine the duly elected representatives of teachers,” It said in a statement Wednesday.
It said the behaviour of Ministers Priya Manickchand and Joseph Hamilton is anti-union and anti-working class.
The AFC also added its voice to the issue, noting that it is alarmed at government’s failure to uphold the right to legitimate protest and the individual’s right to strike. It said the government is not interested collective bargaining and finding a meaningful solution to the concerns raised by teachers over the last four years.
And the WPA slammed the government’s highhandedness towards the teachers,
“WPA, therefore, condemns the heavy handedness of the government towards striking teachers as the worst form of neo-colonialism which ultimately can only lead to a weakening the GTU and stripping the workers of their legal and legitimate right to representation. WPA has no hesitation in standing with the teachers in their exercise of their god given and democratic right to take collective action in pursuit of their entitlement to a living wage. The teachers’ case is just—they work for starvation wages in an economy of relative plenty. No decent government which is concerned with the welfare of its citizens can justify the kind of wages teachers receive. Offering the teachers increases in allowances rather than a raise of their wages is tantamount to willful pauperisation. In normal times teachers’ wages are inadequate, but that inadequacy is exaggerated by the high cost of living.”
