| By Zena HenryChristmas shoppers might get a rude awakening this week when they find that city functionariesCity Hallwill not be unavailable to aid in the smooth running of city facilities. The functionaries will be outside the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) with placards come Monday if the City Council fails to pay them their five percent wage and salary increase.Some 300 staffers are expected to go on strike and basically, “shut down” Georgetown, President of the Guyana Local Government Officers Union (GLGOU), Dale Beresford, told this newspaper yesterday. He told the newspaper that city markets, the abattoir and other municipal centres will be closed as the union will commence strike action on the first working day.Beresford had given the M&CC a 48-hour ultimatum on Thursday since the council had been failing to ensure the approval of the workers’ increase. Beresford had also promised “appropriate industrial” action which he had opined could lead to the interruption of many Council operations including the constabulary, the abattoir, and the markets.Beresford had stated that the Council is yet to approve the increases, despite it being agreed upon by most of the councilors who sit on the Personnel and Training, and the Finance Committees. The GLGOU President said that approval of wages increases were submitted for consideration and were accepted.However,Cheap Jerseys, Beresford claimed that the Deputy Mayor Patricia Chase-Green stated that the increases will come with conditions that the retroactive sums will be paid in line with the increases for the Mayor and Councilors. Beresford said however,Cheap NFL Jerseys, that the increases for Council staffer and Councilors are two completely different matters.Increases for the Mayor and Councillors,Cheap NBA Jerseys Wholesale, he said, are not matters for the union, since their increases are made at a governmental level and have nothing to do with that of the Local Government Union members. No increases have been slated for the Councillors.“While we empathise with councillors as they should and ought to have an increase, these are separate matters in which a collective labour agreement exists between the Mayor and City Council and the GLGOU.”No agreement exists where the workers’ increases must be tied in with the Mayor and Councillors’ increases, he said.Bereford said that the 48-hour ultimatum will attract the appropriate industrial action should demands not be met. He said another attempt was made to have the Council work towards approving the increases at a round robin. It was mentioned however that the Council is seeking to convene an extra-ordinary meeting on Tuesday, but Beresford said he is not confident that the matter will be addressed and demonstrations will therefore start on Monday.The Union leader said that it is no fault of the workers that the Council is facing difficulties. He was at the time referring to their inability to approve the increases because the Statutory meetings are being prematurely adjourned.The GLGOU represents the professional, technical and clerical staff of the Council.In a letter sent to the Council last week Beresford highlighted the Council’s failure to address the matter. He said that he met with the Mayor, on December 9,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, and was informed that he was willing to revisit the issue and have the matter of approval for wages and salaries for members of GLGOU.“However,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, having submitted our request in writing, the GLGOU was informed that this matter will now be placed on the December 22, 2014 statutory agenda. The GLGOU is not confident that this item will be discussed– as was the issue with two previous meetings where the same promises were made by the councillors but to no avail.”The 48-hour ultimatum ended on Friday.The union had also highlighted the arbitrary cutting of the salary of Royston King, the Council’s Public Relations Officer. Beresford has since written to the Chief Labour Officer at the Ministry of Labour highlighting that King’s salary has been cut by 50 percent for the last four months.The union said that the decision to unilaterally cut King’s salary was “unjust, unfair and an infringement of his fundamental rights”. It was reported that the decision to cut King’s salary was based on the court matter which he is involved in. However,Cheap NHL Jerseys, the procedure that allows for the cutting of King’s salary was not followed, Beresford said. The union is thus awaiting a response from the labour officer. |
