| Workers of the Sugar Industry Labour Welfare Fund Committee (SILWFC), who picketed the Ministry of Labour on Monday for a salary increase, are back on the job.According to President of the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (GAWU), Komal Chand, the workers are now awaiting the payout.About 25 employees of the SILWFC converged on the ministry.Chand said yesterday that the union was able to meet with Minister of Labour,Cheap Air Max From China, Manzoor Nadir, and was presented a letter from SILWFC confirming the promised 9% increase.“The Minister acknowledged that based on the letter, we do indeed have an increase for the workers. The workers are now back on the job awaiting management of the body to make the payout,China NFL Jerseys,” Chand said.But SILWFC’s Chairman, Dindyal Permaul,Cheap NHL Jerseys, on Monday in a statement, while acknowledging the previous Board had deliberated on the matter and had discussions with representatives from GAWU and management, “a signed agreement, however,Cheap NFL Jerseys, was not achieved.”And this may have led to the picketing by the staffers on Monday since, according to the union, the new Board under Permaul, is questioning the minutes of the meeting, in which it was indicated that the increase had been approved.But the union said it has the evidence that there was approval, and this is in the form of a letter from SILWFC’s Administrative Manager, Deolatchee Ramotar, who on May 25,Wholesale Jerseys, acknowledged the increase and said that members agreed to it during a meeting on May 21, 2009.The letter also said that “the cycle allowance would be increased by $500 per week; while employees below the level of Senior Clerk shall receive a Christmas bonus of $28,000 and those above will be entitled to $35,000 each”. Meal allowances were to be increased from 8%, the letter said.Minister of Labour Manzoor Nadir had deemed the strike action by GAWU as not only illegal, but unwarranted.“The matter at hand was clearly not discussed between the Board/Management (SILWFC) and the GAWU. No strike or protest action was necessary.As Minister of Labour, I am concerned that unions are resorting to the strike mechanism even before they test the grievance procedure that exists in their CLAs (Collective Labour Agreements). I am calling on all parties to respect the agreements that they have; respect both in the letter and the spirit.”More than two dozen workers, led by GAWU, stood outside of the Water Street office of Minister Nadir,Jerseys Wholesale, waving placards and demanding that they get their increase before Christmas.Permaul, in his statement on Monday, had noted that the new SILWFC Board was working to finalize a package for workers.“Industrial action,Baker Mayfield Jersey, which has not followed established practices, regarding initiation, can have unintended consequences for the timely achievement of consensus,” the Chairman said. |
