Dear Editor,
I am heartened to hear Mr Colwyn King, president of the Guyana Teachers’ Union say that the union will seek to boost its research capability to buttress its ability to negotiate for teachers if he is elected for a second term. However I wish to urge him not to confine the research committee to just assisting the union in presenting its case to the Ministry of Education but also to contribute in such areas as constitutional reform, education and training, communication and the formulation of a collective labour agreement. These are just a few areas where a well resourced, properly staffed research committee; led by a Deputy General Secretary who can appreciate the value of information can contribute.
Since 2004 I have been pushing the union to start the process of having a collective labour agreement and had initiated discussions about it at both my branch and at central levels of the union. I managed to get a motion passed at conference and Ms Crawford had mentioned it in her presidential address and that was as far as it got. I am of the opinion that the crossing of swords between me and the current field secretary as to what a collective labour agreement is and its importance to the union has put a damper on the discussion and forced some to take sides.
For the record, I must state that I cannot agree with what was said at the Plaisance Branch meeting on Thursday 2008-02-28 that a collective labour agreement is like the Education Code or that it is a reformed Education Act. The CLA and the Education code are not the same.
A collective labour agreement is an agreement concluded between the employer/s and a workers association (trade union). It seeks to safeguard the parties involved and standardises the rules that apply within an occupation, and obliges the signatory parties to respect the contract and require their members to comply with the rules.
The fact is that a high premium is placed on a CLA as it is a requirement for a union to submit one to be a member of the Guyana Trades Union Congress and it is also mentioned in ILO convention 98.
There are several benefits that can be derived from having a CLA; apart from it being a historical record of what was agreed upon in the past, it is also an excellent tool for educating members about their rights and responsibilities. It also institutionalizes settlement through dialogue and can have the effect of guaranteeing industrial peace for the duration of the agreement.
Issues covered in a CLA can include a grievance procedure, pension, discipline, hours of work, vacation, wages and salaries, education and housing etc. I believe that all unions worth their salt must have a collective labour agreement and no one should prevent teachers from having theirs. Besides, having one at GTU can assist the union and its leaders to develop a culture of writing and keeping records and this would not be such a bad thing, would it?
Yours faithfully,
Milne Seymour
