GPSU rejects 10% ‘final offer’

…pay hike “fancy foot works again,” – Jagdeo

The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) has rejected the Government’s final offer of a 10 per cent – one per cent differentiated salary increase for public servants and is calling on the Administration to return to the bargaining table.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo speaking during Thursday’s press conference
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo speaking during Thursday’s press conference

The decision came by way of a resolution of the GPSU’s General Council Meeting held on Friday at its Regent Street and Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Headquarters.

The resolution has since mandated the GPSU’s Executive Council and the negotiating team of the Union “to call on the Government of Guyana to observe the rules of the legally binding agreement between the Government and the Union for the avoidance and settlement of disputes.”

The announcement comes a day after President David Granger declared that the ‘final offer’ made by Government is all it could afford at the time and that the Administration would proceed to make an arbitrary award should the GPSU reject its proposal.

Prior to voting on the resolution, its members were urged to consider whether or not the extent of the Government’s pay offer is consistent with its own stated commitment to affording public servants a ‘living wage’.

The General Council was also asked to consider, “Whether or not the extent of the Government’s pay offer is consistent with the Union’s concern that public servants be removed from the ranks of the employed poor… whether or not there is validity in the Government’s argument that the extent of its pay offer is underpinned by

GPSU president patrick yard
GPSU president patrick yard

the reality of affordability.”

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition Bharrat Jagdeo has scolded the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government for the salary increase offered to workers in the country’s Public Sector.

During negotiations with the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), the Government made an offer of between one per cent and 10 per cent increases for workers; an offer the GPSU was expected to consider in coming days. But during his weekly telecast “The Public Interest”, President David Granger made it clear that whether or not the GPSU accepts the offer, this is the final offer from Government, since this is what can be afforded as at September 1, 2016.

However, the Opposition Leader on Thursday said the while the Government is gloating about its 10 per cent increase, in actuality, it is just about six per cent workers will be receiving. He said the figures are concocted with the intention of deceiving workers. According to Jagdeo, the offer is “fancy foot works again”.

He said this is another glaring revelation of the Government recanting on its promises to Guyanese public servants.

“Firstly, they (APNU/AFC) promised the public servants substantial increases. Secondly, they took the huge salary increases for themselves and when you look at the weighted average, it’s not 10 per cent, it’s like what they did; remember they announced high percentage (in 2015), but made it effective from July the last time. Its fancy foot works again,” Jagdeo said.

He reminded that Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo during the 2016 May Day rally, announced that Government had set aside some $50 billion to pay public servants increased wages and salaries and allowances. He said that if that amount is utilised, it will work out to about more than a 100 per cent increase, adding that the announcement of the 10 per cent raise is appalling.

Jagdeo warned that the nation has to be very careful on how they view the increase, adding the Government has tens of billions of dollars sitting in the bank accounts in various semiautonomous entities, which they had argued the previous Administration was keeping outside of the Consolidated Fund to steal. He is urging that they use these monies to fulfil their elections promise of 20 per cent increase for Public Sector workers.

Already the GPSU had put forward the same argument and earlier this week stated that the large sums of money that have been identified lying idle in various bank accounts and available for Government use should be utilised to pay public servants a liveable wage. The Union had even said it was not unmindful of the immediate implications of implementing a living wage and was prepared to support a multi-year approach to achieve this goal, suggesting a three-year period.

The Union, in its proposal to Government, has also called for a flat increase of $7500 per month, which should be added to the salary at December 31, 2015, of each person employed in the public service, as well as to the amount payable at the minimum and maximum of each band.

The GPSU suggested too that next year, a 25 per cent increase be given across the board and in 2018, a 20 per cent increase be paid across the board.

The GPSU and the Government have been locked in negotiations for months, but last week the Government went ahead and arbitrarily announced its final offer to the Union. The Union’s General Council is expected to meet shortly to consider the proposal but from all indications, the GPSU is likely to reject the offer.

Already, critics are saying that the Government’s commitment to respect the collective bargaining process is pure deception, bearing in mind that even though the Union has not officially rejected the offer, it already announced that was what workers will be getting. (Edward Layne)