Latest update April 24th, 2024 12:59 AM
Aug 09, 2017 News
The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) yesterday reiterated calls for the employee status of sweeper/cleaners, across the country to be upgraded.
Sweeper/cleaners are a category of workers employed by the Ministry of Education to maintain a clean and healthy environment in public schools. However, according to officials of the GPSU, the conditions of work for these types of employees are becoming increasingly depressing.
The Union has been lobbying for better wages and terms and conditions for hundreds of sweeper/cleaners across the country from as far back as 2003. The Union has made repeated calls for the working conditions of sweepers/cleaners to be regularised and for their salaries to be in keeping with the minimum wage of the Public Service.
The Union reported that while the minimum wage for public servants is set at $55,000, per month, sweeper/cleaners are paid far below the limit.
As part of efforts to have the matter addressed, the union yesterday mobilized protest action against the Ministry. As such, a small group of sweeper/cleaners, mostly women, assembled outside the Office of the President to voice their disapproval at the administration.
The workers explained that the Ministry had informed them that they will only be paid for one week in August and for two weeks in the month of July. In addition, the Ministry had announced that it would be cutting back on the already small earnings of the workers.
Some workers have described the action of the authorities as sudden and unwarranted.
“The Ministry refuses to pay us fully for July and August. Most of us are female and single parents. We have children to send to school. How are we supposed to make it, and school is reopening in September.”
“We are saying no money, no work. Come September, school will be reopened but it won’t be clean,” they declared. The janitors explained that the issue has become worse with the Ministry cutting the hours of the work.
“Sweeper/cleaners receive anything around $37,000 per month and out of that the Ministry does not pay anything to NIS or nothing. And still they want to cut back on it.”
Dawn Gardener a Union representative, further expounded on the point that the workers cannot benefit from the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) even though they are employed by the Government.
“We are saying that although these are contract workers, they are supposed to be treated and remunerated in accordance with the laws which represent them.”
Meanwhile in a statement to the press, GPSU’s Mortimer Livan explained that a cabinet decision was taken in 2013 to have the wages of the Sweepers/Cleaners set in accordance with the Minimum Wages Order.
The decision was taken following representation from GPSU, but was never implemented.
“Notwithstanding this, the matter was raised again with the previous administration but to no avail. President David Granger while in opposition supported the call for the workers to be upgraded. Under the new Administration, Livan noted, the matter was raised again with the President.
Following a meeting in August 2015, the matter was brought before the then- Minister of Social Protection Volda Lawrence.
“At the request of the Junior Minister of Finance, a detailed statement outlying the plight of the Sweepers/Cleaners was prepared and forwarded to him on December 17, 2015. This statement informed on the Union’s position for these employees to be upgraded.”
Among the calls made by the Union was for workers to be employed on the Permanent Establishment.
“They must be paid in keeping with the Public Service Minimum Wage; they must be paid the difference in salary with effect from the introduction of the Minimum Wage from July 01, 2013; they must be granted annual leave retroactive to at least two years; NIS must be paid for these employees and employees’ years of service must be taken into from the date of employment since their services were continuous,” the Union had outlined.
In his statement, Livan further stressed that given the repeated calls, one would have expected that the conditions of these workers would have improved, “but lo and behold, at a meeting with these Sweepers/Cleaners on Friday August 04, 2017 it was learnt that their work hours had been reduced to six hours per day initially, additionally they were informed by their Head Teachers that they would be paid for two weeks in July and one week in August”.
Livan noted that the situation is developing further into an economic disaster for the workers and their families
“These workers, with no other source of income, are reliant on the already meagre income paid by the government and depend on it being sufficient to meet their very basic domestic needs. The action taken to reduce their wages is heartless and these decisions are being made without any consideration for the plight already facing them. As was pointed out before, almost all of the sweeper/cleaners are women who manage single income households, facing the same cost of living as a second tier government worker but with less purchasing power.”
Condemning what he called the uncaring and unkind posture of the authorities, Livan said that the Union demands that the conditions under which this category of workers toil be remedied forthwith.
LISTEN HOW JAGDEO WILL MAKE ALL GUYANESE RICH!!!
Apr 24, 2024
Round 2 GFF Women’s League Division One Kaieteur Sports – The Guyana Police Force FC on Saturday last demolished Pakuri Jaguars FC with a 17 – 0 goal blitz at the Guyana Football...Kaieteur News – Just recently, the PPC determined that it does not have the authority to vitiate a contract which was... 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]