GPSU calls for establishment of Safety and Health Committee

…to help alleviate workers’ woes

Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) Region 10 (Upper Demerara- Berbice) Representative Maurice Butters is pleading with the administration of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) to establish a Safety and Health Committee.
Butters noted that this would help to alleviate issues presently being faced by Linden part-time sweeper/cleaners, who recently downed tools over the lack of work and safety gear, among numerous other issues.

Butters had indicated that the cleaners are frustrated with the way they are being treated by the regional administration, noting that requests to the administration to provide proper working gear were not heeded.  According to Butters, the administration, through which the sweeper /cleaners are employed, has been turning a blind eye to the plight of the employees. He said despite efforts to put the Committee in place the regional administration appears to be uninterested. “We’re trying to set up a Safety and Health Committee. The workers’ representatives have been turning up at every meeting, but the management representatives are not turning up, so they can constitute the Safety and Health Committee. And the administration is fully well aware of it. Letters were made to them, calls were made to them and visits were made to them, yet they don’t want to put the Safety and Health Committee in place. You see if the Safety and Health Committee goes in place, it will help to alleviate the problems these cleaners are facing at the schools,” the GPSU representative stated.
The female employees, who stood outside the RDC building last Wednesday holding placards, made demands for their positions to be “regularised” so that they can be paid at least the minimum wage, as they pointed out that the current $24,740 they receive presently is insufficient.
The protesters also made demands for the provision of working gear and improved working conditions. The GPSU representative claims that despite an announcement by the Minister of State regarding the fate of sweeper/cleaners, the administration claims it has no knowledge of this announcement.
Butters added that compounding the situation is the fact that sweeper/cleaners in Georgetown, who were in similar position, have since benefited from regularisation.
“We brought to their attention that (Minister) Harmon would have made a public statement, and based on that statement, they should have been more proactive in making calls and enquiries on what is the situation, so they can fall in line with the announcement made by Harmon; but they choose to sit back and wait for somebody to tell them,” he said. (Utamu Belle)