Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
May 17, 2022 Letters
Dear Editor
The rantings of the youthful political Nkosei Williams in his letter entitled “The descent of the trade union movement in Guyana” published in the Kaieteur News on May 9, 2022 is another sordid attempt to undermine veteran trade unionist Mr. Patrick Yarde, through character assassination, and negatively impact developments and progress of the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU).
Ever since the landmark 1999 Armstrong Tribunal award, elements within the PPP/C have tried relentlessly to malign Mr. Yarde, whose experience in the trade unionism is the backbone of GPSU. This young man, who has neither knowledge nor experience within the Trade Union Movement, is being somehow used to sow seeds of discord within the rank-and-file GPSU and its prospective membership by making brash unfounded and unenlightened statements.
Only most recently, the sitting Minister of Labour uttered certain baseless statements about the movement and the GPSU was forced to upbraid him for his uninformed positions and callous remarks. Insensitive to his role as Government’s Head of Labour, this Minister made history in Guyana by failing to attend the wreath laying ceremony to mark the beginning of Critchlow Week 2022, an unforgivable blooper and the first of its kind in Guyana. Now if the Mr. Nkosi Williams was seriously concerned about trade unionism in Guyana, his attention would/should have gone in the direction of the errant Minister of Government and not GPSU.
GPSU did not march on Workers Day 2022, because of COVID-19 related concerns, but successfully held other controlled Workers Day activities. If Mr. Williams wanted to know of these, he could have visited the GPSU Headquarters on May 1, 2022. Nevertheless, the GPSU is unapologetic of its action.
This Mr. Nkosi Williams is either a propagandist in training or a luckless time traveler, to determine that there was a signed agreement “made with the Granger-led Government in 2015 for salary increases in 2016, 2017 and 2018” for wages and salaries. This never occurred and is probably a figment of his imagination. The trainee propagandist then ventures into the unknown, artlessly stating that “The representation provided by GPSU is woefully incompetent to say the least.” As self-appointed judge of trade union matters, he needs to stop messing with the intelligence of the public and put practical evidence on the table.
The misguided youth again ventures into the unknown, indicating that the GPSU among other unions have “lost the confidence of its members and non-members alike.” Again, he seems to be regurgitating hogwash spewed into him, without any empirical evidence. This comment is unworthy of any serious response. The GPSU, nonetheless, takes umbrage to the unfounded conjecture of Mr. Nkosi Williams that GPSU is among unions that are “political arms of the People’s National Congress Reform.” As much as there exist in Guyana trade unions that have close relationships with political parties, with even their leadership being members of Parliament, as is the case with the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union, it is their democratic right to do so. GPSU, however, prefers to be an independent apolitical organisation that respects its members’ constitutional rights and freedoms to participate in any organisation of their choice and is prepared to defend those rights.
GPSU has nevertheless, commented on and given its voice to political issues that affect good governance, a characteristic that any Trade Union within the movement should seek to achieve. Mr. Williams and other political activists like him should recognise the difference, rather than slavishly attacking persons or organisations that do not align themselves with Government or other political parties.
It would be interesting to hear Mr. Williams’ views on the fact that the PPP/C administration when in opposition questioned the failure by the APNU/AFC Government to engage in collective bargaining with the GPSU, but after its return to Government has chosen to impose salary increases like its predecessor without consultations, claiming that it did not have time to so do. Mr. Williams should also comment on the preponderance of evidence that indicates the GPSU made timely calls for negotiations that were often ignored by Government, which clearly refutes the claim of insufficient time. The views should also include comments on the fact that both President Mohamed Irfaan Ali and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, while in Parliament in 2016 supported the GPSU call for a minimum salary of $100,000 or a fifty percent increase for Public Servants and later acted contrary to the Parliamentary proclamation. Truth telling would make a positive contribution to the discourse, not character assassinations and politically driven imaginings.
Lastly, who appointed Mr. Nkosi Williams the “Overlord” of GPSU to determine how long a democratically elected President of the Union shall lead and when he should step down? It leaves one to wonder whether he has the right to question the GPSU Rules and the membership that approved these rules. There are other trade unions that had, or have long serving stalwarts, with current Trade Unionists, Messrs. Carvil Duncan and Norris Witter serving at the helm of their Unions longer than Mr. Patrick Yarde. Why then single out Mr. Patrick Yarde of GPSU? What is the ulterior motive for so doing? Would Mr. Williams please answer?
Yours sincerely,
Owen John
Principal Industrial Relations/OSH Officer
Guyana Public Service Union
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