GPSU street protest attracts small turn out

December 21, 2013, By KNews, Filed Under News, Source

Less than 100 persons, among them nurses and public servants represented by the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) took to the streets yesterday to protest the five percent increase on their salaries. The money was paid Monday and made retroactive to January.

The GPSU had said that the five percent increase that the government arbitrarily imposed on the workers without negotiation or consultation with the Union, is not substantial enough to mitigate the high cost of living.

President of the GPSU Patrick Yarde leading the protest.

GPSU President Patrick Yarde, before the start of the march, said that a lot of persons notified him of their solidarity for the protest. He said that due to the short notice that was given by the police to have the protest, there was not enough time to amass a stronger gathering.

Yarde charged that the government is practising “executive lawlessness” by violating the established rule of law.   “There are claims that democracy returned to Guyana in 1992. Democracy means a state that is governed by the rule of law, a state which means everyone comes under the directions of the law, no one is superior to the law, what we are protesting is the abuse of the law… There has been no respect for workers rights from a regime that claims working class credentials,” said Yarde.

The GPSU president explained that there was “a budget that would have afforded a payment of 15 per cent across the board for everyone, that is less than what we asked for but it is three times what is being prepared to pay to us.

“This money was passed since April and it is only in December in an arbitrary, highhanded way that it has been paid out.” He said that this is the 13th occasion that the arbitrary payout has happened.

According to Yarde, the GPSU has been asking over the period to meet with the government to discuss the matter. However, he said it seems that the government has no intention to meet and discuss the matter with them. As such the body has taken the decision to pursue the matter further by marching.

The protesters

“It is established that good could always conquer evil, and I never promised that this will be an overnight affair but I feel definite about it, that as long as we stand firm we will overcome it,”  Yarde said.

The march commenced with the protestors assembled three-a-breast in front of the Public service building. The protestors proceeded to Vlissingen Road into Brickdam shouting “5% Shutdown” followed by “what we demand a living wage.”

From Brickdam the protestors marched with police supervision through High Street, into the Avenue of the Republic, all the while alternating between their chants listed above. The GPSU protestors then proceeded to Main Street, unto Church Street and then into New Garden Street, into Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, from there the protestors went back to GPSU building.

The protest comes in the wake of the government stating that it can only afford to pay out five percent, due to the global recessionary downturn and the opposition cutting of the budget. The government also established that the monies allocated for public servants were not only for the salary increases, so despite the approved sum that was allocated for the workers, they cannot have 15 percent, only five percent.

Averting a crisis
A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) at its press briefing yesterday called on the PPPC (Peoples Progressive Party Civic) administration to support the demands of the GPSU to improve the salaries and conditions of work for all public servants. The opposition coalition said that the PPPC administration and the GPSU should immediately engage in discussions aimed at restarting the “collective bargaining process and restoring normalcy and averting a crisis in Guyana’s Public Service.

The PPPC administration, according to APNU, must appreciate the need to pay public servants “a living wage.”

Leader of the Opposition, Brig. David Granger, said, “Workers at the lowest levels who comprise over 75 percent of the Public Service will see their salaries increase by less than $2,500 per month with the proposed five per cent increase. Many workers are convinced that they deserve a higher increase, particularly in light of the high cost of living.”

“Public Servants these days are frequently unable to afford to meet some basic household expenses, utilities and transportation. Many public servants must borrow money for emergencies and to settle day to day expenses,” said Granger.

APNU said that the ruling party must start by appointing the Public Service Appellate Tribunal as prescribed in the Constitution of Guyana. “It must also adhere to the International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions ratified by Guyana’s National Assembly that deal with Freedom of Association and the protection of the rights to Organize  Collective Bargaining.”

The GPSU protest marches are scheduled to continue every day until Tuesday.