With teachers, sugar workers and public servants all receiving a 10% across the board salary hike for this year, workers attached to the Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL) were expecting the same increase. However, the company is offering them a 7% increase, triggering threats of industrial action by the workers of the country’s main electricity provider.
More than 1000 of the GPL workers are being represented by National Association of Agricultural, Commercial, and Industrial Employees (NAACIE), and they are not happy with the salary increase offer.
This morning representatives from NAACIE met with the GPL Management team and rejected the 7% offer. The Union’s General Secretary, Dawchan Nagasar, told News Source that the offer from GPL is insulting, especially since the Government has inked agreements with teachers, sugar workers and the public service for a 10% across the board increase. He said the GPL workers will accept a 10% salary increase offer.
“Initially GPL said they were awaiting the pronouncements from the Government which was done on Tuesday. We came to the meeting hoping to agree to the 10% which was announced by the Government but was not to be. The Government pronounced a 10% increase for 2024 and an 8% increase for 2025, along with some in scale movements, additional increases. We at GPL are saying we are willing to accept the 10% increase for 2024 across the board. However, GPL is saying 7% across the board and that’s how we got a breakdown in our discussions”, Mr. Nagasar said.
The NAACIE General Secretary said the power company has highlighted that earlier this year, some workers received a 3% salary increase, and therefore they only need an added 7% to take the total amount of increases for this year to 10%.
Mr. Nagasar said the 3% increase that was given to some workers this year was not across the board, and therefore many workers were left without that increase. He said the power company needs to be fair to its workers, especially around this holiday season.
“We want the relevant authorities to know what is going on, especially the Government, because they are the ones who made the pronouncement about these increases, and GPL does not want to adhere to those things. They are breaching the pronouncements coming from the President”.
NAACIE was one of the unions that recently negotiated a 10% retroactive salary increase for sugar workers for this year. He said it is difficult to understand why GPL’s management want to offer less.
“Up to yesterday, we agree with 10% with GuySuCo, the same NAACIE for the junior staff for GuySuCo…public servants already accept the 10% across the board. So why can’t we get the 10% across the board that was announced by the Government. Our understanding is that the Government will provide the money for the 10% so even if they have other reasons, the point is that the Government is giving you the money to pay the 10%, and then we should get the 10%”, he said.
He said with the union not agreeing to the 7% offer, the negotiations are now stalled. The GPL workers said they are hoping for the early intervention of the President or the Vice President. It was explained that the union submitted its proposal to the power company since six months ago, and it was the company that put a hold on the talks, as it awaited the Government’s salary increase for public servants.
NAACIE is hoping that good sense prevails at this time of the year, and the matter is resolved soon.
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