GUYOIL signs agreement with CCWU to unionise supervisor-level employees

Supervisor-level workers at the Guyana Oil Company (GUYOIL) are now being represented by the Clerical & Commercial Workers’ Union (CCWU), following the signing of a two-year agreement between the two entities on Monday at the Labour Ministry’s Boardroom.
During the simple yet significant signing ceremony, GUYOIL General Manager Molly Hassan said the agreement, which is representative of employees’ benefits apart from fixed salaries, has been in the making for two years.
“At GUYOIL, we see our employees as our number one priority,” she said while emphasising that employees are the greatest assets of any organisation.
“We see our employees as the main idea around our company. It is an asset which, when deployed well, the labour component, if you can get that fixed and taken care of, you are onto a trajectory that can only be fruitful and productive.”
She assured that the company would continue to put its employees first, and in so doing expects larger profits and good work ethics. While there have been some challenges, Hassan disclosed, GUYOIL has been able to “iron out” most of its problems, including employees’ grievances, by working closely with the CCWU. According to her, the agreement would bring “peace of mind” to the fuel company’s workers, since it cites an upgrade in some of the benefits from which employees would have previously benefitted.
Meanwhile, General Secretary of CCWU, Sherwood Clarke, related that the union has had recognition with other categories of GUYOIL employees since 1994.
He believes that having one union represent a company puts less pressure on management. Clarke described GUYOIL as a “significant company”.
He highlighted some of the benefits the company offers to its workers, including meals allowance, travel allowance, risk allowance, uniform allowance, night premium, one-month passage assistance, 30 days’ annual leave, and bursary awards for children.
General Secretary Clarke made it clear that the union has zero tolerance for absenteeism, lateness, and frequent medicals, as it has a role to see productivity in the company.
For his part, Chief Labour Officer Attorney-at-Law Dhaneshwar Deonarine noted that the role of the Labour Ministry in collective bargaining is neutral.
That Ministry, he pointed out, is here to ensure the process happens in good faith, and not under duress and threat.