The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) has cancelled its annual May Day parade this year, in wake of the extant pandemic circumstances that have limited social contact.
At a press conference on Tuesday, GPSU President Patrick Yarde informed that a decision was taken not to host the annual parade and rally for Labour Day, celebrated on May 1.
“We will not have the normal social that we would have. There is no parade. There is no rally that we have decided to participate in. There will be no social gathering as such, but we’re looking at the possibility of providing those persons who will have to work, if the Government does not come forward to do that, with a meal and refreshment,” Yarde stated.
This is the second consecutive year that the parade has been cancelled owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus far, Guyana has recorded over 12,700 cases and some 291 deaths.
Normally, every year on Labour Day, hundreds of workers are decked out in red, carrying banners as they march along the streets of Guyana to show solidarity for workers’ rights.
On the aspect of workers’ rights, the Union has expressed its intention of pursuing a wage increase aggressively. Employees of the public service last received an increase in 2019.
Union member Dawn Gardener said at the press briefing, “The GPSU recognises that all workers have a right to a living wage and as the representative of the public sector workers, the GPSU has sought to be as non-confrontational as possible, but candid and strong in its representations for good governance, national unity, human rights, fair treatment and even-handedness.”
In keeping with its obligation to members, GPSU has asked for Government to address the issue, as it has been displaying ‘sensitivity and generosity’ to other sectors and matters of concern.
The statement added, “Public servants have been providing quality public service for the past years without any meaningful economic improvement in their earnings and are being pressured to perform in an increasingly deadly environment.”
Last February, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo dismissed “false claims” that there were to be no wage and salary increases in 2021 for public servants. He went on to disclose that billions of dollars have, in fact, been set aside for wages and salaries for the public sector.
“The fact is that over $10 billion has been budgeted in the estimates under the head, ‘Revision of Wages and Salaries’. A huge part of that sum will go towards salary increases for public sector workers,” Jagdeo had explained.
