GPSU asked to justify minimum wage demand
Stabroek News
October 15, 2002
The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) will present a breakdown of a basket of goods for what it says is a typical family of four, when wage talks with the Public Service Ministry (PSM) continue today.
When the parties met last week at the beginning of a process of conciliation, the union had presented the basket of goods as a way of strengthening its argument for a minimum wage of $33,000.
The union had been requested to present further facts to support its claim.
The breakdown was requested by the ministry with whom the union is locked in discussions aimed at arriving at a suitable wage package for public servants for 2002.
Contacted by Stabroek News yesterday, GPSU General Secretary, Surendra Persaud confirmed the status of the talks and expressed apprehension at the slow pace.
According to Persaud, the union is seeking to have the matter resolved as quickly as possible as it has been ongoing since the beginning of the year.
If the parties reach a deadlock at the conciliation process the union has already signalled its intention to seek arbitration as a way of settling the issue.
The last time the sides went to arbitration following the 57-day public service strike in 1999, the Armstrong Public Service Tribunal awarded increases amounting to 31.6% and 26.6% for the years 1999 and 2000 respectively.
However for 2001, the government unilaterally, after failing to arrive at an agreement with the union, decided to award a 5.5% across-the-board increase.
This was opposed by the GPSU which said that its request for arbitration was sidetracked by the government.
For its part the government is saying the union applied too late and the government subsequently requested the court to adjudicate on several issues at the centre of the dispute.
The case is still to be decided.