-union says others being victimized
The National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU) worker, who was incarcerated over the weekend returned to work yesterday but union leader, Kenneth Joseph said yesterday that several other workers, who had taken industrial action, and participated in a walk-out on Monday, are being “victimized”.
He said that the management of the Unit was “attacking” individual workers “in an attempt to drive fear into the workers because they did not like the action the workers took”. Joseph, the General Secretary of the National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) said last evening that two persons, who were among those who walked out of the office in protest on Monday, were ask to give statements outlining why they should not be disciplined for walking out. This newspaper was unable to contact the CEO of the Unit, Valmikki Singh for a comment as Joseph made his statements after the office would have been closed.
Joseph said that he attempted to speak with Singh yesterday but was unsuccessful. He said when the workers turned up yesterday morning, initially they were told that they could not enter the compound but they were shortly after, allowed to do so.
Several employees of the NFMU with the approval of their union, NAACIE, on Monday took protest action at what they termed “the unfair arrest and incarceration” of their colleague and walked out. The incident was sparked by the incarceration of the employee at the Ruimveldt Police Outpost since Friday. Joseph had told this newspaper that the man, an inspector, was held after several radios went missing at the NFMU. In a press release, the union had said that the “accepted procedure of proper investigation was not followed”, a charge dismissed by Singh, who declared that the workers and the union did not follow procedures in taking their action.
Yesterday, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG), in a statement, condemned what it said was “the anti-industrial elations behavior of the management of the NFMU as displayed to several of its members over the past four days”. The Federation, which comprises four unions, offered its solidarity to NAACIE on the issue, pointing out that the due process of natural justice was not followed. “The fact that even by Monday, after an entire weekend of being detained by police, he had not been charged for anything, is further evidence of the high handedness that tends to give the Guyana Police Force a bad name”, the union asserted.
The Federation declared that it hopes that wiser judgment on the part of the NFMU management would prevail and advised that the Unit meet with NAACIE to avoid any escalation of industrial action. “Further attempts to selectively discriminate and antagonize particular members of the union can do no good for the unit. Seeking statements from and threats to workers who stood by their colleagues can only expose the unprofessional behavior and pettiness of the management of this important unit”, FITUG declared.
