Opposition Leader offers government
“Social Contract”
With 2014 just beginning, A Partnership For National Unity has proposed to government, a new ‘social contract,’ which according to party leader David Granger, would promote national unity, ensure human safety and foster economic development.
Granger at the party’s weekly press briefing yesterday said that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic administration has demonstrated that they are incapable of solving the country’s current crisis single handedly.
“The economic crisis has lowered workers’ standard of living…protests by two of the country’s largest trade unions, the Guyana Public Service Union and the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union have demonstrated how labour relations between the state and its workers have degenerated. The ranks of the unemployed young people are increasing” Granger told the media.
Granger noted that with poverty in the country being rampant, the World Bank in its 2014 World Development Report has rated Guyana as the second poorest country in CARICOM.
According to Granger, the report has showed that with a gross national income (GNI) of US$3,410 per capita, Guyana compared unfavourably with The Bahamas at US$21,280 per capita, Suriname at US$8,480 per capita and, indeed, with all other Caricom states except Haiti.
He said that the security crisis is also another unfavorable issue with the government. According to Granger, security has disproportionately hurt the poor.
Granger noted that there has been a seven per cent increase of reports of robbery under arms. There was an increase in the number of armed robberies involving the use of firearms by 16 per cent. Other serious crimes – including banditry in the hinterland, murder, piracy, fatalities on the roads and interpersonal violence – proliferated.
Granger said that the new ‘social contract’ which his party proposes would seek to bring major sections of society – including the government; political opposition; trade unions; private sector and civil society together, and seek agreement on a broad national programme to move the country forward.
He explained that the ‘social contract’ could be the main means of combining the talents of a wider constituency and of creating the conditions for social cooperation and economic progress. The three-fold purpose of such a contract would be to reach a broad consensus on the goals of national development; to establish a sustainable institutional architecture and to create effective policy instruments for the achievement of the objectives of the ‘contract.’
Granger called on the PPPC administration to honour its obligations to undertake and continue tripartite consultations with workers’ and employers’ organisations in order to promote increased production and productivity in accordance with The Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.
Granger also called for the strengthening of mechanisms for tripartite consultation in accordance with the ILO Convention on Labour administration, 1978 that provides for an effective system of Labour Administration.
