Dear Editor,
In response to your news article, ‘GTUC concerned about AFC’s approach on public sector wages,‘ (January 27), I think there has been a complete misunderstanding of the AFC’s role and motive in expressing a willingness to meet with President Ramotar to discuss wage increases for public sector workers.
Unfortunately, some have latched on to the GTUC statement expressing concern about the AFC’s role as if the statement is gospel and then used their misinterpretation to lash out at the AFC.
Personally, I believe in constructive criticism, including keeping political parties and elected/public officials in check, but we must also be willing to thoroughly examine their words and actions to ascertain if their motives are consistent with their roles.
Rewind to the election campaign in 2011 and find records where the AFC did specifically mention a 20% wage increase for public sector workers as a talking point. No one objected back then because it was in the workers’ interest if they could get such a fat increase.
Fast forward to the AFC’s expressed intention to meet with President Ramotar to raise the same wage increase issue as part of discussions, and suddenly the GTUC puts out a statement expressing concern the AFC might be usurping the labour body’s role. The AFC is not doing any such thing.
The AFC is a constitutionally elected political party with seven seats in Parliament and so it has a voice in the public space on public issues, of which wage increases are but one. In fact, it is highly possible that among the voters who cast ballots for the AFC were public sector workers, so shouldn’t the AFC speak for them as part of the party’s constituency?
Editor, what I think many who lashed out at the AFC here failed to recognize is that there is a difference between talking and negotiating, and what the AFC did was to express an interest in talking with the President about an issue that was part of the AFC’s campaign platform. The AFC can or may also talk with APNU about wage increases, and APNU can or may also talk with the President about wage increases. But these talks definitely do not constitute negotiations.
Negotiations on wage increases for public sector workers are reserved for representatives of the government and the GTUC and that’s where the final decision is usually made. But there is nothing in the constitution that precludes constitutionally elected political parties or representatives from talking about public issues, including wage increases, either among themselves or with the executive branch. So we need to stop mixing up talking with negotiating and give the AFC credit for at least keeping this issue front and centre for public sector workers.
By the way, let the records also show that the AFC, through Mr Khemraj Ramjattan, is being consistent when it comes to going to bat for workers. For example, back in 2008, sugar workers at Skeldon were said to have become agitated over problems at the Skeldon Plant where US$200M (to be repaid by working class Guyanese) was spent on modernization plans, and it was Mr Ramjattan who blew the cover on the Skeldon fiasco by paying a personal visit to the factory.
Because of Mr Ramjattan, on September 28, 2008, Kaieteur News carried a story under the caption, ‘Problems abound at new Skeldon sugar factory,‘ and from then the entire nation became aware of the colossal failure, even though 1) then Agriculture Minister, Mr Robert Persaud, accused the AFC of seeking to gain political mileage, 2) then GuySuCo board member Mr Donald Ramotar denied the board was responsible for GuySuco’s overall failure, and 3) GuySuCo’s management chided Mr Yesu Persaud for running ‘political interference’ by providing critical commentary on the industry’s failed state.
Next, on Wednesday, May 18, 2011, Stabroek News carried a news story, ‘$300M severance for Diamond sugar workers,‘ in which then President Jagdeo reportedly said that “government decided to disburse the monies and end a court battle which could have dragged on for years.“
The truth is, Editor, that court battle was initiated by Mr Ramjattan after government delayed making the payments, so that Mr Ramjattan‘s recently expressed interest in talking with the President about wage increases for public sector workers should be seen as being consistent with his track record going to bat for workers.
Yours faithfully,
Emile Mervin
