Dear Editor,
I really appreciate the activism of Lincoln Lewis on the wage issues for the workers of Guyana; this man has been at the forefront of the struggle for workers’ rights for decades and ought to be justly recognised; even with a national award.
That said, I must in principle, professionally but gently disagree with the verdict of the Hon. Minister of Finance Mr. Winston Jordan that “he has to agree with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on this point”. The point being their suggestion to “moderate the growth of wages”. The history of Guyana and many other developing countries has shown that nations do not necessarily have to follow the instructions of the IMF especially when that country is not in a Fund Agreement. Guyana is not in a Fund Agreement.
But to add salt to the wound, in the 2016 Budget, there is an approved allocation for $6.8 billion under line item 6141 (other employment cost). This line formerly called the “revision of wages and salaries” under the PPP was the pot of cash to fund the across-the-board salary increases given to employees of budget agencies (public servants, nurses, teachers and members of the disciplined services) and the cost of any new recruitment into any central government budget agency.
So why are we playing “footsie” with the people’s money? The National Assembly approved this $6.8 billion in the 2016 budget for these across-the-board increases over a month ago so why the delay? From my computation, the Coalition Government can easily release an eight percent increase in wages for the workers immediately from this approved budget. So why all the delays? Yes, it is good economics to back the rise in wages with increased productivity, but when a political promise was made to give the workers a substantial increase on the campaign trail, it is the right thing to do to back up your promise partially and quickly. Every day delayed is one day more in not delivering on your promise to the workers.
Whatever value the Lutchman Commission or the Collective Bargaining Process add to the lives of the workers, those processes have their time to deliver which can be months away. The workers should not be made to wait just like the Ministers could not wait for their increases. The punishment is real and alive today in Guyana and those at the bottom of the economic ladder deserve the financial support to take them closer to a living wage and the good life.
So I am making a personal appeal to His Excellency the President, Brigadier (retd) David Arthur Granger to please use his full powers to ensure that the people get their justly deserved payout today. It is provided for, it is legal, it is the right thing to do and irrespective of what the so called experts say – they will never feel the pain of that single Afro-Guyanese woman who I personally interviewed. She works as a police constable and she is forced to meet some of her bills by doing legal and illegal side jobs and I mean illegal side jobs. In my dialogue with that lady, she burst down in tears telling me that some nights, she has to “pick fare” to make ends meet. This is not what we worked so hard for over the year; to have our policewomen “picking fare” to feed, clothe and house their children. I beg of you, Mr. President, please bring immediate relief to the people at the bottom of the economic ladder; yes you can!
Yours faithfully,
Sase Singh
