Suspend GPSU & GTU membership payments’ checkoff

Dear Editor,
In Guyana, we have many trade unions, but let us look at two major ones: the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), which represents the public sector, and the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU), which represents teachers. These two unions ought to represent the best interest of their members at all forums, whether at negotiations or matters of national interest, but the question is whether they’ve been doing so.
It must be pointed out that workers’ unions are bound and mandated to be politically, racially, and religiously neutral in order to represent the best interest of their members, but are these unions politically neutral or acting politically neutral? It must also be pointed out that these unions only speak and put out public statements when it benefits a certain political party. This was evident from past public statements on behalf of these unions by the union presidents or executives; for example, Corretta McDonald, an APNU+AFC MP.
In the past, we have seen the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), a union that is supposed to be a politically neutral organisation, having publicly aligned itself with APNU+AFC. For example, the recent court proceedings that involved a budget dispute which sought to eliminate the Finance Minister from altering and making changes to the independent budgets submissions/proposals for the independent commissions. This is initially submitted by these independent commissions, and a court proceeding was publicly taken to court by APNU+AFC members, which immediately makes this matter a political case.
However, the GPSU still joined in this case.
This act immediately strips the union of its political neutrality. Additionally, this union, GPSU, has failed in the past year to negotiate for anything “proper”, whether it be better working conditions, better uniform allowances, salary increase etc, which would initially benefit its workers, given the COVID-19 pandemic.
Editor, let us broaden the scale to the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU). It must not be forgotten that a trade union is obligated to represent its members to the best of its ability. Since the pandemic began back in March 2020, this union has done nothing that would have directly benefited teachers. Did the union negotiate for any form of salary increase or bonus for teachers, who had to come out during the pandemic and prepare students to sit the national and international exams? Did the union ignite any collaborative efforts to distribute relief hampers to teachers, like many other independent organisations did? NO!
But let’s move away to what the union is obligated to do and have, because if we continue to ask what the union has done for teachers over the past years, the list would go on and on and on. The union is also obligated and mandated, like other unions, to be politically, racially, and religiously neutral. But this union is one of the unions that have an APNU+AFC Member of Parliament sitting as its executive member. You may recall, earlier in this letter, it was mentioned that unions are to be politically neutral. Yet there is a politically affiliated member sitting as GTU’s executive member. This is a position that enables one to speak on behalf of the union. This is done so blatantly and publicly, a blatant “knockout punch to teachers”, who are supposed to be represented fairly.
Editor, many members of both of these unions have been heckling, enquiring and considering to leave these unions, due to their lack of political neutrality, as evidenced by information provided in this letter and also other evidence available publicly. These members are afraid of being victimised by pro-union colleagues, and they also do not want to be singled out for leaving the union.
To prevent the victimisation, a suggestion that is endorsed by many top neutral activists is for the Ministry of Public Service and Ministry of Education to suspend these two unions’ “checkoff”, which would lead to these two unions going to court for the reinstatement of the “checkoff”.
Let us look back at a precedent that was created when the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Service, Dr N.K Gopaul, suspended the union “checkoff” of GPSU. GPSU then had to go to court. Upon judgment of the case, it was ruled that the GPSU had to get new deduction orders for deductions to be made in favour of the GPSU from workers.
Now, if this were to happen, then these politically affiliated unions would have to do a general recruitment of members back to the union. As such, previous members of these unions would be free to join, but those who wish not to join can decline to join.
This will certainly bring a calm solution to this ongoing conflict of members wanting to leave the union.

Yours truly,
Randy Mangru