Latest update April 18th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jan 01, 2009 News
– President
Many have not yet come to accept the fact that gender equality is faster becoming a reality; but for members of the Guyana Trades Union Congress, this fact seems very hard to swallow.
In an interview with President of the GTUC, Gillian Burton, it was disclosed that the past year has been a year of stalemate for the union.
“For the past year, since I took up office as president, it has been a year stalemated with a host of internal wrangling…What has happened is that, on becoming the president, being first female who would have come on board, and I came with a lot of vision, especially being a young person, there was opposition,” Burton said. She added that, while being on the outside, she was provided an opportunity to see what needed to be done.
“From the outside looking in, you would have wanted to see changes. I had envisioned healing the wounds and ridding the union (of) the fractionalization,” Burton lamented.
Despite her vision for the movement, Burton said, she was greeted with the fact that most of the male folk were not ready to hand over the mantle to a woman; and, most importantly, many of the issues which needed urgent attention and needed to be resolved were placed on the back burner.
“In order for the union to move forward, persons need to get accustomed to having a woman at the helm of the trade union movement. They need to embrace the fact that gender equity is now a reality.”
Burton further said that while she is more than ready and willing to make a change, there is no cooperation from those who are in a position to give support and advice.
“The Witters, the Duncans and the Lewises of the trade union movement need to step aside and give young minds a chance to make a change,” Burton noted.
She added that the elders within the movement are not willing to depart from the ancient mode, and they continue to hold to the fact that business should be as usual, with no fruitful discussion and mediations.
“Instead of cooperation and looking at ways of moving forward, we had to grapple with the battle for supremacy and the hijacking of meetings by persons who should now stand back and give guidance,” Burton lamented.
She said that persons need to embrace the fact that a woman is now at the helm of the movement.
Nevertheless, Burton said, with her leadership, 2009 should be a better year.
“We are prepared to deal with the issue of bringing back militancy to the movement, because we have found that workers were disillusioned about what was going on; we found that they were not updated on issues related to them,” the GTUC president noted.
She added that the movement will also focus on ridding the union of the fractionalization, which is killing the movement.
“Labour must be able to speak with one voice, so that recognition can be given to the fact that the tri-partite process which is being tabled can take place between the Government, the private sector and labour movement.”
The GTUC president added that the trade union movement needs to reposition itself so that it would be able to lobby more effectively for issues affecting workers.
Burton said that, in the new year, her organisation will be exploring avenues which would put the union in a better, more economically financial position.
“Now, with the withdrawal of the Government’s subvention to the Trade Union Congress and the Critchlow Labour College, we need not sit down and wait for handouts from the Government, but to put ourselves in a position where we can finance our own projects,” Burton stated.
She said that the union will soon be holding discussions with CLICO of Barbados about long and mid-term investments. These investments, she said, are expected to see major returns in US dollars.
The union will also be refurbishing its premises and upgrading its boardroom to a state-of-the-art facility that can be rented in order to generate funds for the union.
JAGDEO ADDING MORE DANGER TO GUYANA AND THE REGION
Apr 18, 2024
SportsMax – West Indies captain Hayley Matthews has been named Wisden’s leading Twenty20 Cricketer for 2023, as she topped all and sundry, including her male counterparts. Alan Gardner looks...Kaieteur News – Compliments of the Ministry of Education, our secondary school children are being treated to a stage... more
By Sir Ronald Sanders Waterfalls Magazine – On April 10, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States... more
Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.
Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]