Labour GPSU incensed at lack of gov’t response on wages:

The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) has accused the PPP/C government of inviting a confrontation by failing to respond to its request to begin negotiations for increases in wages and salaries. Speaking at a press conference last Tuesday, First Vice President Dawn Gardener reminded that public servants have not received an increase since January 2019. She noted that the union has written the Government since November 2020 to begin negotiations but has not yet received a response. “The GPSU has sent reminders to the Government representatives calling on them to respect their obligations under the legally binding “Agreement for the Avoidance and Settlement of Disputes” by commencing negotiations… [but] it seems that there is a well-orchestrated plan to suffocate workers in the Public Sector and by extension their families. Such acts are inhumane and cruel,” Gardener said. The trade unionist was quick to highlight the fact that government recently responded to protests from workers in the sugar sector by making available $200 million yet refuses to make a similar consideration for public sector workers. “Public Servants have been providing quality public services for the past years without any meaningful economic improvement in their earnings and are being pressured to perform in an increasingly deadly environment,” Gardner lamented adding that the state coffers could afford to pay a substantial increase to every level of worker.