The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) condemns the clear intention of the Ministry of Social Protection to railroad the composition of the Arbitration Tribunal that will address pay rise and working conditions of our nation’s teachers. The attempts led, from all appearances, by Junior Social Protection Minister, Keith Scott to impose a Chairman of the Tribunal is yet another manifestation of the Ministry’s and Administration’s attempt to undermine the teachers and union struggle.
For us it is completely dismaying and utterly reprehensible that the Ministry which is charged with upholding workers’ rights and conditions has shed all pretenses and exposed, glaringly, its partiality in this matter. The Minister, from our point of view, is far removed from his boundary and has gotten himself in uncharted waters from which he has, in our view, no justification to enter. It seems clearly that he has misunderstood his role and is causing serious damage in its wake.
From the FITUG’s point of view, the actions of the Ministry, and more particular the Minister, does very little, if anything, to repose workers confidence in the Department of Labour and more so the Administration’s concern for the plight of our country’s working-class. Indeed, it seems, the workers can no longer count on the Labour Department as an ally. For the Department, this is a disappointing turn of events especially when we take into account its proud past of standing with workers to ensure that they are respected. The reversal of sorts is yet another clear demonstration of the Administration’s dim regard for the country’s working-people.
The Federation strongly contends that the Government should urgently engage in damage control and seek to correct the several missteps it has made. The Granger Administration should also really give serious consideration as to whether it wants to continue to have Minister Scott as its front man on this issue recognizing the serious damage his actions have done to the credibility of the Department of which he is the political head. The entire episode had undoubtedly left a bitter taste in the mouths of the teachers, in fact all workers, and this is not in the interest of our country at this critical time.
