Government’s failure to make representation at the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Annual Conference compounded by its meagre reason for nonattendance has definitely ruffled the feathers of the
Junior Communities Minister Keith Scott
Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC).
In a statement issued over the weekend, the GTUC said it was extremely disturbed at the failure of government to attend the Conference for two consecutive years, noting that is sends a strong signal of the nonimportance being placed on labour issues in the country.
The ILO conference is where governments, employers and workers organisations meet to discuss issues that impact the well-being of each group. These discussions guide the conceptualisation and development of conventions and programmes.
The 2016 Conference is being held from 1 to 13 June in Geneva, Switzerland.
The GTUC argued that it would have been to the nation’s advantage to be represented at such a high forum where involvement would have taken place in the discussions and shaping of policies and programmes. Guyana would have also benefitted from the input of other participants.
No money to attend
GTUC said when it discovered Guyana was not attending, efforts were made to ascertain the reason(s) for non-participation.
The umbrella union said it was appalled when it was advised that government was not attending because there were not enough financial resources.
“GTUC finds it instructive that while the government claims it could not find the funding to attend and participate in the conference, at the same time Minister Keith Scott who has responsibility for labour and was identified to be at the conference, has travelled to Europe, for only God knows what,” the statement registered. The GTUC said it recognises that every government operates with limited and scarce resources, nonetheless it is calling on this administration to make judicious determination in its spending and the prioritisation of events.
“The ILO Conference should be within the top priority,” GTUC said.
It continued: “This Government is put on notice that it has to be mindful of labour’s role and importance in any developmental agenda and its responsibility to participate at regional and international bodies that would impact this most vital resource of every country.”
GTUC reminded that it is of concern to labour that workers continue to be treated as incidental to production and productivity, even though neither can be achieved without their input.
Rejected complaints and a Labour Ministry
In addition to the nonattendance at the ILO Conference, the GTUC is perturbed over reports of labour complaints being rejected when reports are made at the Social Protection Ministry, Labour Department.
“GTUC continues to receive complains from workers that they are being turned away from the Ministry of Social Protection when they seek to lodge complaints against employers. The process in industrial relations on matters of such nature is not to turn away complainants but to activate a process to investigate and resolve the complaint,” the organisation related.
In this regard, GTUC renewed calls for government to re-establish a Labour Ministry.
The union had previously pleaded with the President to restore the Labour Ministry. In announcing Cabinet portfolios and the renaming of ministries, President David Granger did not include labour, which in the previous administration fell under the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security.
The human services portfolio has now been renamed the Social Protection Ministry, but the word labour has been dropped. Administration officials said the Social Protection Ministry will carry the labour portfolio.
In response to these calls however, Granger maintained he made a right decision to not have a separate ministry for labour issues. He emphasised that the Social Protection Ministry is perfectly capable of dealing with matters that would otherwise have been dealt with under a Labour Ministry.
