UG unions say ‘threats’ won’t derail lobby for audit

Following what they have called an “unfortunate” meeting with the Department of Labour, the University of Guyana Workers’ Union (UGWU) and the University of Guyana Senior Staff Association (UGSSA) yesterday said threats will not deter them from their efforts for a forensic audit of the university’s finances.

The unions have been protesting since Tuesday in front of the Vice-Chancellor’s office at the Turkeyen Campus after they were told by the university administration that there is no available funding to grant wage increases and that the hikes imposed late last year were final.

They have called for a forensic audit of the university’s finances so that they could verify the administration’s claims given that in recent years revenues have increased as well as the subvention from central government.

In a joint statement issued yesterday, the unions noted that on Tuesday they attended a meeting that was called by the Chief Labour Officer Charles Ogle in response to a request by the university’s administration to initiate the conciliation process

The meeting was attended by head of the UGWU Bruce Haynes and head of the UGSSA Jewel Thomas at the Department of Labour.

According to the statement, the meeting was a “most unfortunate experience” for the Unions after officials from the Department of Labour “did not appear to be the impartial arbiters they should have been in such a situation.”

“The UGWU and UGSSA representatives were told that strike action is not a right and that strike action in their situation was impossible. They were also told that what had been allowed before would not be allowed again (the Unions took that to be a reference to their 2015 strike action) and that they could face disciplinary consequences for their role in leading industrial action,” they noted.

As a result, the unions said the behaviour that was manifested in the meeting was “a grave disappointment” and that they expect officials of the Department of Labour will behave in a manner that is beyond reproach when intervening in disputes. They added that the Department’s conduct should be so unbiased that accusations of acting in favour of a particular political group would never arise.

“However, such threats will not cause us to deviate from our determined course. What is at stake is the well-being and interests of over 1,000 full-time and part-time staff, and also the well-being and interest of over 7.000 students of the University. As employees, as taxpayers and as citizens, we need to know that the national resources being given to the University are being spent in a way that brings the greatest good to staff and students,” they said, before adding that they would like their questions answered through a forensic audit which will help them in determining the true financial situation of the university.

Past president of the UGSSA Melissa Ifill had stated during a protest on Wednesday that they were not interested in conciliation meetings since they are of the opinion that the Labour Department has always swayed in favour of the administration.