Prime Minister tells May Day rally of devastation of average worker
…if critical AML/CFT Bill is not enacted
ACTING President, Samuel Hinds yesterday underscored the fact that the struggle of the workers in Guyana is not over .At the FITUG rally at the National Park, Thomas Lands, Hinds drew the nexus between the welfare of Guyanese workers and the “looming sword” that is the non-enactment of the critically important Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Bill looming over the country.
A section of the workers who participated in this year’s May Day parade, which culminated with a rally at the National Park, Thomas Lands, Georgetown
He bemoaned the consequences of the Bill’s non-passage in the National Assembly, and made it clear that the Government’s position on the matter is both reasonable and indicative of its willingness to compromise.
The Acting President was emphatic in pointing out that the actions of the Parliamentary Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC), will being “devastation” to the average worker in Guyana.
“The AML/CFT Bill must be above negotiations…it is not a tool for Opposition brinkmanship,” he said.
Hinds stressed the need for the support of all Guyanese in advancing the call for the passage of the Bill, which will bring the country into compliance with international regulations for operations in the financial sector.
The deadline for Guyana to demonstrate compliance is May 29; and if it passes without the enactment of the AML/CFT Bill, the country can be recommended to the international body, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), for review by the International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG). If that recommendation is made, Guyana could face further sanctions, including being internationally blacklisted. Guyana has already been blacklisted regionally by the Caribbean Action Task Force (CFATF) after missing a November 2013 deadline.
CONCERNS
Aside from the AML/CFT Bill, Hinds acknowledged the other concerns of workers, including the minimum wage.
He contends that with incremental successes recorded in the nation’s economy, as evidenced in the last eight years, the livelihood of the working class is consistently improved.
“There have been rapid changes,” the Acting President said.
He pointed out that additional measures that were to be introduced have been affected to the extent of the $37.4B cut from the $220M national budget by the Parliamentary Opposition.
The 2014 Budget included no new taxes and announcements that: old age pensions would be increased from $12,500 to $13,600 – up from $3,500 in 2006; old age pensioners would receive an annual electricity assistance of $30,000, an increase from $20,000; and a $10,000 allowance for each child in the public education system.
Among other measures announced were the allocation of $3.2B to meet the cost of maintaining the electricity subsidy in Linden and Kwakwani, Region 10; $3.7B to the Guyana Power and Light Company, to support critical capital expenditure and avoid increased tariffs for consumers; $1B for rural enterprise development; $200M for advancement of efforts in other agricultural areas; and an investment of $800M in the tourism industry for the establishment of a Hospitality Institute.
According to him, the 2014 Budget sought to continue the work the Government has been doing to build a more modern and prosperous Guyana.
Hinds quoted the Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, in his 2014 budget speech when he said, “Every day, each and every single one of us has an opportunity to make Guyana a better place, for ourselves and for our countrymen. Whether we teach a child to read or we repair an engine, treat a patient or saw some timber, pan some gold or cut some cane, paint a fence or sew some trousers, bake some bread or sell an insurance policy, create a job or open a business, build a bridge or carve a sculpture, we are producing and we are earning, and the more of it we do and the more efficiently we do it, the more prosperous we will be and so too our country.”
The Acting President acknowledged that there is more to do, but stressed that every Guyanese worker must recognise that the tasks of improving our own lives and making Guyana a better place are no less in our own hands than in anyone else’s.
NEW APPROACH
General-Secretary of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG), Kenneth Joseph, who also delivered an address during the rally, called for a new approach by workers in their daily struggles and the attempts to “destroy” organised labour in Guyana.
Similar sentiments were expressed by FITUG’s Vice President, Komal Chand, who noted that the struggles that defined the labour revolution that resulted in the observance of May Day, are being replayed in a new context.
To this end, he made it clear that the working class must continue its fight for fairness, justice and democracy.
According to him, Guyanese workers are not “amused by political gladiators” who stymie development and, by extension, affect the improvement of their livelihood.
President of FITUG, Carvil Duncan, assured of the Union’s support and added that a union that is not guided by the interest of its members has failed.
He referred to false promises of politicians at election time who seemingly forget the people, once elected as representatives, and vote against key development initiatives.
Duncan also bemoaned the fact that there are some factions that have lost their identity at the altar of political advancement.
The FITUG President noted that while much has been done, there is still much more to be done to ensure all workers in Guyana have access to improved livelihood.
In addition to the trade union leaders, General-Secretaries of the People Progressive Party (PPP) and Guyana Rice Producers’ Association (RPA), Clement Rohee and Dharamkumar Seeraj, as well as Government Ministers, and former Members of Parliament (MPs) were present at yesterday’s rally.
(By Vanessa Narine )
source: Guyanachronicle
