GPSU accuses Minister Henry of disrespect

Sweeper/cleaners’ issues

…says court action is last resort

By Lakhram Bhagirat

Vice President of the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), Mortimer Livan, said the Union is dissatisfied with the steps taken by Education Minister Nicolette Henry, in relation to addressing the sweeper/cleaner issue that has been plaguing the education system for some time. He noted that the Union got involved in the matter when the sweeper/cleaners appealed to them in August after they were informed that they would receive less pay than they worked for.
Livan said this prompted a series of protests from the sweeper/cleaners calling for their work to be regularised. The Ministry with Union reps held a meeting and a set of recommendations were adopted. That included regularisation of work and an increase in wages, coupled with provisions for National Insurance Scheme payments and leave.
Those recommendations were submitted to Minister Henry for consideration and a meeting was scheduled with the GPSU but was later cancelled.
“The GPSU wrote the Honourable Minister of Education on September 7, 2017 for a meeting to bring some clarity to the situation. The Secretary of the Minister through a telephone call informed that the Minister will not be meeting with the GPSU since the matter was discussed with the Minister of Social Protection,” Livan said.
“It was very disturbing when on Thursday September 28, 2017, we were visited by a group of disgruntled sweeper/cleaners who were summoned to a meeting by the Honourable Minister of Education and was advised by the Honourable Minister that she will not meet with a third party, be it the GPSU or the media. The GPSU condemns that type of behaviour from a senior Government functionary. It is very highhanded and disrespectful,” he added.
He further stated that the GPSU entered into negotiations on behalf of the sweeper/cleaners with the Education Ministry and that all communication should have been done through the Union. According to him, the Minister’s comment is “a blatant disregard” of the Agreement for the Avoidance and Settlement of Disputes between the Government of Guyana and the GPSU.
“It is not the view of the Union that the Government is behaving with the requisite haste and sense of urgency in the matter of alleviating the suffering of the sweeper/cleaners. Their circumstances continue to give eloquent expression to the concept of the working poor. We wish to state categorically that the plight of the sweeper/cleaners remains decidedly unresolved,” he said.
Livan said the Union was very happy when they saw that Cabinet approved a recommendation for the regularisation of the sweeper/cleaner’s appointment. However, he noted that to date, the Union is yet to be informed of the details of the regularisation. In addition, the sweeper/cleaners said they are yet to be informed of the new details of their regularisation and are still receiving the same pay, despite working eight hours per day.
The Union indicated that they would consider legal action against the Government as a last resort.