Officials of the Ministry, Bank of Baroda, and the CCWU pose for a photo op post-signing of the agreement
The Clerical and Commercial Workers Union (CCWU) and Bank of Baroda (Guyana) on Friday signed a three-year agreement that will see workers receiving a wage increase of 24.86 per cent over this period.
The signing was facilitated between the two parties at the Labour Ministry and spearheaded by Chief Labour Officer (CLO), Dhaneshwar Deonarine. Apart from the raise in salaries, allowances will account for 24.56 per cent.
CCWU President Sherwood Clarke stated, “This agreement is historic when it comes to allowances and increases…Other than that, every time the anniversary date comes around, you get an increment above 10 per cent without going through an appraisal system.”
Other than these improvements, the Union President said they also intend to engage the management on grave areas of concern that were observed.
Managing Director of the Bank, Anand Kumar added, “I believe this is a very satisfactory offer or enhancement. It is for three years, from January of this year to 2024…Approximately 25 per cent growth is there on their salary and apart from this, there are other benefits we have passed on to our employees.”
Moreover, employees will get a percentage reduction on interest for loans. The Manager added that the Bank has its workers’ interests in good regard and is working to remedy issues when they arise.
Meanwhile, the CLO added, “We in the Ministry are always pleased when agreements of this nature can be negotiated and arrived at amicably…That is a type of collective bargaining we encourage here at the Ministry because we believe in management doing well, we think the workers will do well. At the same time, we want to advocate for the workers’ rights to be protected and that they get their fair share. We seek to balance that power.”
The Bank of Baroda (Guyana) Inc was one of the earliest overseas branches. It was established in Georgetown, Guyana, on March 31, 1966. In 1999 the overseas branch in Guyana was converted to a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Bank of Baroda.
In 2012 the bank established a branch in Mon Repos on the East Coast of Demerara. It now has two branches in Guyana.
