The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) has considered the recent remarks of Minister of Finance Winston Jordon. The Minister, who according to media reports, addressing a press conference hosted by the People’s National Congress/Reform (PNC/R) pointed out that he has recognised that foreign workers were undertaking tasks at lower rates-of-pay than Guyanese. By extension, the Minister, it appears, is advocating that Guyanese work for lower rates-of-pay in order to do the jobs being undertaken by foreigners.
The remarks by one of the senior-most Ministers is an incredulous statement to begin with and again is yet another manifestation of the Government’s dim concern about the well-being of the Guyanese working-class. It is saddening that the Minister, who is a trained economist, is advocating that his fellow country men and women must work for lesser pay in order to be employed. At a time, when the Minister’s Government, through its policies, has engineered the retrenchment of thousands of Guyanese, and at a time where the working-people and their families are having a hard time to make their meager ends meet, the Minister’s contentions can only be seen as a slap in the face of the Guyanese people.
The Minister’s statement comes at the same time as the workers of Guyana celebrate one hundred years since the establishment of the Trade Union Movement in Guyana, a period characterized by improved working-conditions and enhanced workers’ rights. Now, at this time, we see such an outrageous statement coming from one of our nation’s leaders. What even more bothersome for us is that, it seems, the Minister is unaware that workers must work for certain rates-of-pay as set out by the National Minimum Wage. The enactment of such a policy was yet another means to prevent the exploitation of the Guyanese workers. Moreover, it goes against the very grain of the ILO Decent Work agenda which the Government of Guyana has undertaken to uphold and further. But the Minister’s expression undermines those commitments. Also, it demonstrates that the workers do not have allies in the Administration and further exposes the ‘Good Life’ mantra as cheap propaganda.
We of the FITUG are extremely upset and equally disheartened by the Minister’s statement which can only be seen as an insult to the hard working and decent minded Guyanese people. We hasten to remind that our achievements are the product of our people’s struggles over the years and those gains we proudly celebrate and cherish in our day. Forward ever, backward never!
