Georgetown : The Government having perpetrated the vilest act of dictatorship, in shutting down the Parliament, has now added another; the imposition of another 5% increase on the majority of Public Servants who earned above $50,000.00 monthly as at December 31st, 2013, and made retroactive to January 1st, 2014. Public Servants on bands 1 and 2, earning less than $50,000.00 per month as at December 31st, 2013, also had imposed on them an 8% increase retroactive from January 1st, 2014.
According to the opposition, the Government violated the rights of the workers by disrespecting the terms in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with their union, the Guyana Public Service Union (G.P.S.U.) governing wages and salaries negotiations.
The result is that public servants are denied a living wage pegged at around $135,000.00 per month by the G.P.S.U.’s “basket of goods,” which requires a 35% increase in 2014 across the board.
Moreover in response to President Donald Ramotar’s request, the Union proposed a multi-year agreement in respect of wages and salaries for Public Servants for the years 2013, 2014 and 2015 proposing increases of 30%, 35% and 30% respectively for those years. The Government has failed and or refused to sit at the bargaining table to address this issue.
After deductions of income tax and NIS contributions, and coupled with the high rate of inflation, the imposed increases are negligible.
The Government has shed all pretensions to being a working class government, and continues to oppress the workers of this country.
APNU calls on the Government to forthwith honour the CBA, and enter into negotiations with the G.P.S.U.
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