GBC/GTV merger
Workers can be assessed without mass layoffs - union
Stabroek News
December 7, 2003
Ongoing talks between the Privatisation Unit(PU) and the Clerical and Commercial Workers Union (CCWU) centre on whether workers at the soon to be merged Guyana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) and the Guyana Television Broadcasting Company (GTV) need to be terminated en masse.
The government is in favour of terminating all employees prior to the merger, while the union is contending that the suitability of staff for the new entity could be determined without this approach.
In a recent press statement the CCWU observed that the managements of the two entities appeared to be preparing for mass terminations by the end of the month.
Notices from the general managers to the chief labour officer (CLO) dated November 28 officially informed him of the merger and were copied to the union.
But the CCWU says this would see employees thrown into a state of uncertainty twice, initially when they are made redundant and again when they are temporarily re-engaged for six months while the entity tries to determine their suitability.
The union says suitability can be determined before terminating any employee and that this can be worked out in consultation with them. The letters to the CLO said the "process will result in the reduction of the number of employees and new terms and conditions." The letters also said "it is hoped that negotiations with the unions will be concluded to allow the effective achievement of the year end target set by government."
According to the union, a decision of its special delegates' conference held recently, saw a report of concerns about the merger process being sent to its international associate, the Union Network International (UNI). The associate in turn sent a letter dated November 17 to President Bharrat Jagdeo expressing its concern about the process.
According to the CCWU, the UNI which represents over 15 million union members in over 900 unions in ten countries worldwide, raised its concerns over the manner in which the workers were to be treated. The UNI in its letter was extremely disturbed that the government proposes to terminate all the workers and rehire them on a temporary basis for any length of time, the CCWU statement said.
CCWU General Secretary, Grantley Culbard, in the release, said the union would continue to insist that the job security issue be first removed to clear the way for serious negotiations on other issues to do with the merged entity.