…seek to halt laying-off 120 workers
The Guyana Postal and Telecommunications Workers’ Union (GPTWU) has filed a petition in court seeking to restrain the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GTT) from proceeding with plans to lay off some 120 employees.
This latest course of action, according to GPTWU President Harold Shepherd, is based on the company’s decision not to adhere to procedural imperatives as outlined in the laws of Guyana.
Shepherd told a news conference on Monday at the GPTWU head office at East Street, South Cummingsburg, Georgetown, that the petition was filed in the Supreme Court on March 15, 2017, by attorneys Justice Stanley Moore and Maxwell McKay.
Shepherd maintains that the union is not against the company wanting to restructure its operations, but it is adamant that this should be done in keeping with the Collective Labour Agreement between the two parties, and within the confines of the labour laws of Guyana.
“The company’s action to proceed with its redundancy exercise without first or at all consulting with the union is a clear violation of the Collective Labour Agreement and Termination of Employment and Severance Pay Act Number 19 of 1997,” the union President explained.
The union is contending that the affected employees were not given adequate notice and that GTT did not inform the union of the number of workers to be affected, and the period over which such termination is likely to be carried out.
Instead, the GPTWU explained that workers were issued letters without prior notice and left in shock and severe distress.
General Secretary of the GPTWU, Eslyn Harris, said the affected employees should have been coached and counseled before they were issued with letters informing them that they will be layed off, and not after the fact.
Besides trying to avert the company’s plans, the GPTWU is also seeking damages against GTT for failing to comply with its statutory obligations.
Shepherd said that the union is not prepared to accept a two percent increase for two years on behalf of GTT employees.
The union, according to him, was forced to request arbitration in an effort to resolve this dispute. Several meetings were held at the bilateral and conciliatory levels.
GPTWU also stated that GTT did not attend a scheduled meeting with the Department of Labour at the Social Protection Ministry.
“The arbitration route is the only process that the union is prepared to take in an effort to bring a resolution to the dispute,” Shepherd argued.
Meanwhile, GPTWU said it is also concerned that GTT’s move to make 120 employees redundant is aimed at creating positions to place contract employees.
“The company is outfitted with a large number of contract workers who are continuously employed executing work within the bargaining unit. This is not only against the Collective Labour Agreement, but it also flies in the face of what the law prescribes.”
GTT’s take
GTT on the other hand, has said that positions are becoming redundant.
The company announced in February of this year, that it will be laying off workers over the next 12 months as part of a restructuring programme for its operations.
The telecommunications company said the changes are aimed at aligning GTT with the new environment in which it provides services.
The court case will continue on April 6.
