Latest update April 23rd, 2024 12:59 AM
Apr 01, 2019 Letters
DEAR EDITOR,
Today, May 1, is designated International Workers Day or Labour Day. This is a good time to reflect on the state of the labour movement in Guyana and by extension the condition of the working class.
There is a tendency to see almost everything in Guyana through the prism of race and ethnicity, especially when it comes to political behaviour. While this may be true to a point, such perceptions mask a very fundamental truth, namely, that in an environment of economic decline, it is the ordinary working people who suffer the most, especially those who live on fixed incomes, as in the case of public servants and those in the commercial and industrial sectors.
This May Day is being celebrated at a critical period in our history, when the sugar industry is being downsized and bauxite workers are faced with severe challenges, including threats of dismissal as in the case of RUSAL employees. The Collective Labour Agreements, signed between representatives of employers and employees in the public and private sectors, are consistently violated and for the most part honoured in the breach.
One contributory factor to this unfortunate state of affairs is the continuing schism in the labour movement which continues to have two competing umbrella labour organizations in the form of the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG).
I will not dwell into the factors which resulted in the split in the labour movement, except to say that this year is of special significance, as it marks 100 years since the formation of the country’s first trade union, the Guyana Labour Union (GLU), under the leadership of Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow.
It is time for the labour movement to close ranks in defence of the nation’s workers. Our workers deserve no less. It is only the employers who benefit from a fragmented labour movement, and not the workers who labour under difficult and trying conditions to create surplus value for their employers.
It is good to know that both umbrella organizations, the GTUC and FITUG would be marching together this year under a single banner. This is a good beginning in the process of healing the existing fracture in the labour movement.
I take this opportunity to extend greetings to all the workers of Guyana.
Hydar Ally
LISTEN HOW JAGDEO WILL MAKE ALL GUYANESE RICH!!!
Apr 23, 2024
Kaieteur Sports – Over the weekend, the prestigious Lusignan Golf Club played host to the highly anticipated AMCHAM Golf Tournament, drawing golf enthusiasts and professionals alike from across...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]