The Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) is hoping that the Irfaan Ali Administration will act on its menu of recommendations that were submitted for the national budget, which will be presented on Monday.

The GTUC has recommended tax reform, cash transfer and the immediate implementation of free tertiary education, among other measures.

In an interview with News Source, General Secretary of the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), Lincoln Lewis, said the union’s proposal for the 2024 National Budget was grounded in the Constitution. 

He said in addition to demanding that the right to collective bargaining in the public sector be consistent with the Constitution, the GTUC has lobbied Government for the immediate implementation of free tertiary education. 

“We made much emphasis on Article 27 of the Constitutions which speaks about free education from nursery to university. We believe that it is a right and because it’s a right, it should not be postponed, it should be respected now,” Lewis said. 

President Ali, in his New Year’s address, indicated that his Administration will roll out free university education from 2025. It is, however, unclear, whether the Government is prepared to shift its position amid increasing demands from the Opposition and the Unions, that university education be made free now. 

With the country raking in billions of dollars from its booming Oil and Gas Industry, the GTUC is of the strong belief that steps should be taken to create an economy that is “all-inclusive,” and the Government should initiate cash-transfers targeting Guyanese households. 

While US$5000 per annum has long been touted by some economists, the GTUC General Secretary said the National Assembly should discuss and agree to a sum that is feasible, and beneficial to the people of Guyana.     

He said while Government may argue that it has invested in infrastructure development and other social programmes, Guyanese are in need of financial aid amid the steep rise in cost of living. 

“These things go hand in hand, you can give the people all the roads, all the bridges but if they can’t sustain their families, if they can’t eat and drink properly, they will not be comfortable. The bridge will not make you comfortable. All the bridge will do is take you from one point to the other,” he reasoned. 

Lewis also made a case for first time land owners to be given housing subsides to assist with the construction of their homes. 

“We asked that first time home owners, be given a minimum of three million dollars towards their home construction rather than the president coming to say that we will give people cement and stone. Everybody can get $3M across the board to start their homes,” he disclosed. 

GTUC’s proposal also included the removal of Personal Income Tax (PAYE), the issuance of unemployment benefits, improvement in healthcare delivery across the administrative regions and the reduction in electricity, transportation and gas prices. It is also hoping that a percentage of the funds in the Sovereign Wealth Fund could be used to return the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) to a state of viability.  (Svetlana Marshall)

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