Cleaners cry foul over Govt’s promise of “a better life”

− union issues 2-week ultimatum

Cleaners from public schools across the country said they have had enough of the failed promises of the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government, which after almost two years in office, has kept them stagnated and on the bread line.
About 20 workers representing the hundreds at public schools across the country turned up at the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) on Thursday. Their cries were many. They said Government has failed to keep the promise made on the campaign trail to work for them and their families.
The cleaners, some of whom are working for as low as $15,000 per month said they have had it with the promises and are seeking swift actions to alleviate their unbearable living and working conditions.
Vanessa Simon from Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) has been working for over nine years at a public school in the region. A single mother of six and with a recently increased salary to $37,000, her life has not been seeing any improvement.
“They gave us a circular which says that we are supposed to work six hours a day, but we work for more than six hours. You have to go in for 08:00h in the morning, one hour lunch break. During the school hours you cannot clean the school or the classrooms. When school dismisses at 02:45h, then you clean and whenever you are finished then you go home.

When she began working at the school nine years ago, she was paid just over $15,000.
Another worker, Miriam Fordyce, has been working at the Hopetown Nursery School for some 16 years. She too had been working for $15,000 and has had only two increases over the years, the last bringing her salary to $37,000.
“Imagine, for that 16 years, I was paying NIS, you know how much money I would have gotten in NIS? I have five kids and I have to send them to school. The present Government, they went on the picket line with us  for this same thing, holding up placard and now they in office and doing the same thing,” she said.
According to Fordyce, there are things that are unacceptable that are happening to the sweeper/cleaners. “Maternity leave, we don’t get that, and if you sick, you have to send somebody. No leave, no leave you don’t get”, the visibly frustrated Fordyce said.
The situation in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) is very much the same. Audrey McCalmon who works at the Mackenzie Primary School said sweeper /cleaners there are forced to fetch water if there is none readily available to get their work done. She said the school is in a deplorable state. Added to that, the workers are not given a pay slip which would reflect the payment of National Insurance Scheme (NIS).
“When the children mess their skin, we the auxiliary staff have to tidy (them) and that is real unfair because the teachers are not doing it. We have to wash blinds, auditorium, all the schools supposed to have a handyman, but I can’t say if we really have a handyman, because he is just like us”. She said the workers are forced to do the work of the handyman as well.
The Guyana Public Service Union said it has already reached out to President David Granger who related that Finance Minister Winston Jordan has been directed to address the situation. However, nothing has been forthcoming. The Union has again promised that actions will be taken and gives the administration two weeks to respond.
The Union is seeking the implementation of a Cabinet decision taken back in December 2013, regarding the regularisation in the recruitment and improvement of conditions of sweeper/cleaners employed to provide cleaning services in state run schools.