Union threatens industrial action if GPL fails to pay annual increment to workers.

Georgetown: In a letter to the Minister of Labour Manzoor Nadir , Kenneth Joseph, general secretary of  NAACIE is threatening industrial action if the Government fails to force the Guyana Power and Light company to pay it's workers annual increments from since 2007. The letter states the following:

I have been instructed by the Union’s members through the Negotiating team that I give notice of their intention to revert to industrial action if your office fails as we did and like your Chief Labour Officer also failed to cause the Guyana Power and Light Inc to pay to those who qualified for annual increment from 2007 to date also failed to pay those who are entitled to performance increment awards for 2007 to date and their resistance to pay increases in other allowances and wages increase for 2010.
Please be reminded that this is also impinging on our relations to discuss wages increase for the year 2011, which is already in the month of June.

There are many other serious issues that has befallen the GPL workers but most of all our hard working members.

These matters have been engaging our Union for a very long time and has even cause our members to resort to industrial action during 2010 when you had the cause to call them back to work and warned them of the Public Utility Undertakings and Public Health Services Arbitration Act. Of course they respected your wishes, but to date nothing has been done by anyone to cause the Company to honour our agreement and pay workers their entitlement. The Union is frustrated, our members are angry and the GPL is boasting of increased generation etc.
 
the Union regrets this recourse but is using its last option to avoid this confrontation and is calling on you to use the said act to intervene, especially after recognizing the disruption any action of this magnitude can cause.