Municipal Markets to facilitate late shopping following two-day strike

Dec 18, 2014 News

Stallholders who lost business as a result of a two-day strike that saw city markets and other municipal arms being closed, will have an opportunity to make up for lost cash. The Mayor and City Council (M&CC) has allowed extra time for late shopping on the days leading up to Christmas.
The M&CC said that from yesterday to December 20, the markets will be open until 18:00hours. On December 21, stalls will be opened until 17:00hours while from December 22 to Christmas Eve Day they will be open until 20:00hours.
Steps were being taken to resolve the matter when a large number of staffers from the Guyana Local Government Officers Union went on strike after the M&CC failed to approve five percent increases for the union members who make up clerical, professional and administrative staffers.
The Guyana Local Government Officers Union said that the M&CC was against the workers increases; it said that the increase should be in line with increases for the Councillors.
GLGOU said, however, that the Council has a labour agreement with the union and workers increases could not be tied with Councillors’ increases because their increases were at the governmental level.
During an Extra-Ordinary meeting on Tuesday between officials of the Council and the Ministry of Labour a decision was taken to approve the five percent increase for striking workers, whose action had caused the shutdown.
It was understood that amidst the confusion, the Clerk of Markets facilitated a number of the vendors, to remove perishable items they may have had in their stalls.
Approximately 30 stall holders gathered outside Office of the President on Tuesday to highlight their dissatisfaction at being held hostage by two entities that seemed at the time, unable to iron out their differences.