Dear Editor,
Having read the letters of George N. Cave (SN 30th September and 1st October, 2018) the opportunity is being taken to attend to the germane issue of whether the Minister of Social Protection can appoint a chairperson to the Guyana Teachers’ Union and Ministry of Education’s arbitration panel. Good industrial relations practices are guided by laws, conventions, and moreso, ethical custom and practices.
To Cave’s question on whether the Ministry of Social Protection can arbitrarily/unilaterally appoint a chairperson to the panel, the answer is a resounding no. There is a difference between “nominate” and “appointment.” These words are not used interchangeably or conflated in industrial relations. No appointment can be made without the consent of the parties of interest. In this case, the Teachers’ Union which is a party, was not involved in any way in the selection process of Dr Leyland Lucas, neither has the Union supported his nomination. As it stands, no legitimate appointment as chairperson for the panel exists.
In every Collective Labour Agreement, there exists a section called the “Avoidance and Settlement of Dispute.” And while in some Agreements, the act of some parties going to arbitration requires agreement between the two parties, in the case of the Teachers’ Union and the Ministry of Education, either party can request same and the other will have to comply. In industrial relations, this process is called Voluntary Arbitration.
History will show that in every case where there were differences between any two parties on the selection and agreement for the chairmanship or single arbitrator, the Department of Labour was always asked to nominate a person or persons, who were then considered by the affected parties. Even when such nomination was made, there had to be agreement between the parties because the process is voluntary.
In establishing a three-man arbitration panel, the parties of interest have to nominate one representative each and they can either together, or with the assistance of the Department of Labour, arrive at a chairperson. After arriving at the chairperson for the panel, the three identified representatives are considered as nominees and only become arbitrators after the instrument, together with the Terms of Reference, have been issued to them. It is because of this process the word “nominate” is placed in the Collective Labour Agreement. The responsible ministry could only issue the instrument after there is agreement between the Teachers’ Union and the Ministry of Education.
Until such time the above protocol and practices are adhered to, there is no chairman. The case of the teachers and the Ministry of Education is not that of Compulsory Arbitration where the responsible Minister under the Law can arbitrarily appoint a chairperson and ask the parties of interest to submit their representatives to sit on the panel. The government is inappropriately applying Section 4 of the Labour Act, Chapter 98:01, which deals with Compulsory Arbitration.
Justice must not only be done it must also be seen to be done. Ministers Amna Ally and Keith Scott, together with Labour Advisor to the Minister Francis Carryl and Chief Labour Officer Charles Ogle were at the table advocating on behalf of the employer, i.e. the Ministry of Education. This is a first in Guyana where the ministry that holds the role of conciliating in Labour Disputes has chosen not to remain impartial to the process, but immersed itself in alliance with one of the parties in the dispute, i.e. the Ministry of Education. Consequently, they have disqualified themselves to be seen as impartial and credible conciliators to the process in establishing the arbitration panel. Having mudded it up, a way has to be found to put the arbitration process in place so that the panel can begin to do its work. Every day that passes and this is not being achieved, it makes the environment more acrimonious.
What we are witnessing is a case where the government is lurching from one misstep to another. And this is because government has no interest in respecting Collective Bargaining, so officialdom becomes openly contemptuous of trade unions, Collective Bargaining Agreements, the Rule of Law, time-honoured principles and workers’ rights. This is further confirmed in the fact that government had enough time to withdraw Lucas’ appointment had it paid attention to the public responses to its act. But no, it went ahead on Friday last and issued a letter to the Teachers’ Union informing that Lucas has been appointed Chair and the Union must now submit its representative.
From Dr Lucas’ CV and the fact that he is a lecturer at the University of Guyana, it is reasonable to expect that he will not be led by the nose and shall seek after knowledge and advice on this matter. He has the opportunity to remove himself from this farce or face the wrath of the workers.
Yours faithfully,
Lincoln Lewis
