Dear Editor,
It is incumbent upon the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) to make known its views on President Ramotar’s comments regarding the building of the Marriott Hotel. To the President’s claim that the issues surrounding Chinese workers constructing the hotel are more political in nature than reflecting a genuine concern for Guyanese, he is right on the first count and dead wrong on the second.
Politics, if managed correctly, is about people and people’s development, impacting their lives − positively or negatively − from the womb to the tomb, and any government (executive and legislature) upholding this principle would strive to ensure their actions are informed by a “genuine concern” for the people’s wellbeing.
And it is in relation to this principled understanding the GTUC highlights the duplicity and inconsistency of the President’s statements.
The jobs of the president and legislature, which also comprises the executive, are secure from the standpoint that such positions, according to the Guyana Constitution, should only go to Guyanese. Were this position different the president and all holding these titled positions would have been fighting, tooth and nail, to secure their right to play a role in the nation’s development. And if the electorate/workers (past, present and future) has so elected them to safeguard and advance their wellbeing, it follows that they have a responsibility to ensure that the citizens’ rights are protected and defended at all times. And where they fail to uphold this it is incumbent upon the people to fight to secure it.
It requires strength to admit an error and correct it. The deliberate outsourcing of jobs to foreigners outside the ambit of CSME Free Movement of Skills and on the backs of taxpayers, when Guyanese are equipped to do these jobs, speaks to an abuse of authority and demonstrates the lack of concern/respect for the people whose dollars are funding the lifestyle of their elected officials and who ultimately will be saddled with the burden of repaying these loans.
This action does not constitute genuine concern for Guyanese and the President is found wanting in this regard.
Regurgitating Winston Brassington’s wishy washy statement that the use of Chinese labour was a cost-saving strategy has no merit when a government has the foremost responsibility to its citizens to ensure they engage in productive activities, and guarantee their right and duty to work. And as fate would have it Mr Brassington’s statement is exposed for what it is, as the media made known that the concession to the contractor for a lower cost is not reflected in the contract which was made public by the government.
Somebody is taking the workers for granted and labour is not happy about it. For no government operating on behalf of the people and with genuine concern for their wellbeing will tell them it is taking their tax dollars to engage in projects but will not give them first preference to work.
Further, to hear the President/Chief Public Servant tell the people, who are paying him, that jobs are available in other sectors when the government is using their monies demonstrates contempt for his employers (the workers of this country).
There can be no development without a human face, and in this instance the right of Guyanese to be employed. Guyanese must be given priority for any job that entails them having to foot the bill.
An employed labour force contributes to personal and national development by 1) putting people to work; 2) reducing unemployment; 3) alleviating poverty; 4) allowing opportunities for self sufficiency and its attendant dignity; 5) enabling workers to provide for their families’ needs; 6) re-investment in the community and Treasury via the workers’ purchasing power and taxes; and 7) reducing dependency and anti-social behaviour. Against this backdrop the GTUC reiterates its call on the leaders in the legislature, both government and opposition, to give leadership to this society by having this contract examined in the National Assembly to ensure it is consistent with the Constitution, and in this instance, focusing on Article 22 which guarantees “the right and the duty to work”’; and creating legislation to protect Guyanese labour in relation to foreign companies and ensure the foreign contractors know English, the nation’s official language.
Exploring this avenue will give voice and respect to the people’s wellbeing by hearing from their elected representatives and having them vote (yes or no) for guaranteeing and protecting Guyanese labour at all times. This is a serious matter for Labour since it has dire implications for local human development, and the legislature (supreme organ of democratic power) will be held accountable for acting on the people’s behalf.
Yours faithfully,
Lincoln Lewis
General Secretary
GTUC
