GAWU defends pact with TT oil union

Jul 29, 2022 News

– maintains industrial relations climate in oil and gas sector poor

Kaieteur News – The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU) is strongly defending its recently signed Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) of Trinidad and Tobago insisting that good industrial relations does not currently exist in the local oil and sector. The local workers representative is hoping to feed off the experiences of the more than 80 year running workers’ rights body as it positions itself as a representative of staffers within the budding oil sector.

The GAWU said its attention was drawn to the press statement issued by the Guyana Oil and Gas Energy Chamber (GOGEC) regarding its recent MoC and assured that the collaborative effort with the foreign entity is all being done in the interest of securing the rights of local workers. GOGEC which was formed in 2017 by former tourism and trade minister, Manniram Prashad, expressed concern in a statement about the collaboration between the local and foreign unions. He contended that “The OWTU lost a significant amount of its membership We have a relative [sic] stable industrial climate in the oil-and-gas sector in Guyana and we want it to remain that way.”

The statement went on to say that “We respect good industrial relations and are in the forefront to ensure that we have a healthy industrial climate. It is unfortunate that GAWU feels that foreign intervention is needed to represent oil- and-gas workers who they are attempting to get unionised,” As such, “the GOGEC is urging GAWU to reconsider its decision to bring in a foreign union and to seek help from other trade unions and experienced trade unionists in Guyana in which there is an abundance.”

The GAWU has nonetheless refuted the stance that there is good industrial relations within the oil sector given the numerous complaints it has been receiving since locals became active within the industry. “The Chamber expressed the view that they are good industrial relations practices within the sector. We do not entirely share that view,” GAWU posited. “In our activities among workers within the sector, we have learnt of the departure of certain practices whether enshrined in Statute or otherwise. Some of these issues were only remedied after we brought it to the attention of the relevant authorities.” The Union submitted that had good industrial relations been a hallmark of the sector, “such issues we believe would not have existed,” and offered to provide the relevant evidence to the Chamber to foster support for the necessary action needed in strengthening local workers representation. The Union has thus offered the GOGEC to an engagement that will allow the union to bring the agency up to speed.

The GAWU said nonetheless that it sees the MoC with the OWTU as an important step in advancing the rights and conditions of Guyanese workers within the sector. “Indeed, it strengthens solidarity between workers of the region’s energy powerhouses. It also allows the GAWU and the workers overall to benefit from the experiences of the OWTU.” The GAWU believes that the collaboration is critical for allowing citizens to avoid any pitfalls and to repeat successes. The GAWU said also that it has had “long standing” relations with the OWTU and urged that GOGEC to see the wisdom in the collaboration.

The GAWU is seeking to become the official bargaining agent for local oil and gas workers and has so far brought to the fore numerous cases of what could be described as worker exploitation and discrimination. The union has even described some of the treatment meted out to some local oil and gas workers as “heartless” as workers were not being compensated properly or at all when injured on the job; that they were in many cases receiving less pay than their foreign counterparts and that some companies were promoting attractive but misleading pay structures that saw local workers actually receiving wages within the meager minimum wage. While the workers also complained about not having issues with safety wear or having to pay for same, it was explained that when it came to payment, some companies were promoting benefits that summed to hefty wages, but the payment of the benefits are entirely at the discretion of the companies.

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