Arbitration begins on sugar workers pay
Stabroek News
January 20, 2003
The three-member arbitration tribunal set up last year to examine salary increases for sugar workers over a three-year period began listening to oral presentations from the two unions on Thursday.
The meeting is being held at the Supreme Court Library. The tribunal is headed by Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission, Prem Persaud, David Yankana and Norman McLean. The National Association of Agricultural, Commercial and Industrial Employees (NAACIE) has begun its presentation and General-Secretary of the union, Kaisree Takechandra, General President Kenneth Joseph and Assistant General Secretary, Narpat Singh make up the union’s presentation party. The other union, the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) will make their presentation immediately after NAACIE.
According to reports, the protocol of the arbitration demands that each union makes its individual presentation then Guysuco will make one general reply after which the tribunal will make its final award. Senior Counsel, Miles Fitzpatrick and Keith Massiah are the advocates for Guysuco.
Speaking to this newspaper after the meeting, NAACIE’s president, Kenneth Joseph reported that his union completed making its presentation on Thursday afternoon and is now required to answer questions from both the corporation and the panel. He said the presentation contained a demand for a 38% increase in wages and salaries for workers for the year 2001, 30% for 2002 and 23% for 2003. NAACIE represents mostly clerical staff and some factory workers. Guysuco and NAACIE had deadlocked on wages negotiation for 2001 after the corporation had rejected the union’s proposal.
As a result NAACIE had applied for arbitration. Sugar workers did not get an increase on their salary for last year but Guysuco made an interim payout of 4.5%.
Apart from wages increases the tribunal is also expected to look into a 3-9% increase in the merit increment for NAACIE workers. Guysuco only offered a 1% across-the-board increment to its staff.
With regards to GAWU the corporation and the union had failed in their bid to reach agreement for 2002 both at bilateral and conciliation talks and as result Minister of Labour Dale Bisnauth had enforced compulsory arbitration on the parties. Seepaul Narine, General Secretary of GAWU told Stabroek News that once everything works to plan his union will commence making its presentation today. GAWU is demanding a 10% increase for wages/salaries for 2002 and 14% for 2003. It is also asking for a 2-5% increase in the merit increment for the mainly field and factory workers it represents. Narine said the union’s presentation party would be headed by Trinidadian Dr Rudall Munilall who will stand as advocate for them. Munilall is a Labour Economist and had served as Labour Minister under the Basdeo Panday administration. Narine and President of GAWU, Komal Chand are the other two members.
